Cubic Zirconia Jewelry – Affordable, Diamond-like Brilliance!

Genuine diamond jewelry is being given a good chase by cubic zirconia jewelry. Cubic zirconia or CZ, looks just like real diamond and comes at anything between a tenth and a quarter of the price of a real diamond. Gemstone purists sneer at the cubic zirconia and call it “fake diamond”. Apart from the fact that a cubic zirconia is not a diamond, cubic zirconia commands a very large share of the jewelry market and is categorized as a semiprecious gemstone.

Calling it an imitation diamond is more appropriate. A number of diamond alternatives do exist and are regularly used in jewelry. Cubic zirconia happens to be the best of the lot. It matches the qualities of a diamond, in brilliance, durability, and hardness, more closely than the other alternatives.

The diamond enjoys a unique reputation among gemstones which it has accumulated and acquired over a period spanning the entire history of human civilization. Its value springs primarily from the fact that it is the rarest of rare natural gemstones, and secondly that it is the hardest gemstone. Cubic zirconia, on the other hand, has a much shorter history and so its reputation as a gemstone is quite limited, therefore it cannot match the reputation of diamonds. Apart from that, cubic zirconia jewelry has everything that is sought after in diamond jewelry, albeit in somewhat lesser quantities. The difference is more than compensated for by its very low price, which can at times touch a tenth of the price of diamond jewelry, though very good quality cubic zirconia jewelry is about half the price of comparable diamond jewelry.

A few people are reticent about using cubic zirconia jewelry for fear about being found out that they are wearing “fake” or “imitation” jewelry. To reiterate the point, there is nothing fake about cubic zirconia jewelry, and that it is used as imitation jewelry should not attract social stigma. It is cheap in the sense that it is “cheaper than” diamond jewelry. Its affordability, a desirable quality, should not be held against it! Apart from that no one, not even experts, will be able to tell whether a person is wearing cubic zirconia jewelry or diamond jewelry just by looking at it. Cubic zirconia is so close to diamond in appearance that it requires meticulous inspection with special instruments in controlled conditions to detect the difference. Cubic zirconia is about one and a half times heavier than diamond, but that is not visually detectable. Visually, you’d have to juxtapose the cubic zirconia with the diamond for an expert to be able to tell them apart.

An interesting aside to this story is that cubic zirconia has no flaws, whereas genuine diamond has its share of natural defects, ranging from the noticeable to the negligible.

The cubic zirconia is noteworthy for its close visual similarity with diamond. What is less known is that the similarity doesn’t end there. Cubic zirconia has all the qualities that are sought after in a diamond – brilliance, clarity, durability, and hardness. The fact that cubic zirconia has all these qualities at an affordable price, makes cubic zirconia jewelry ideal for general wear, where the intrinsic value of the gemstone is not important.

Cubic zirconia can come in handy for dressing up a great outfit and turning it into something elegant and special. All forms of jewelry like earrings, pendants, rings, and brooches are suitable settings for cubic zirconia.

You can get any jewelry item made with cubic zirconia, ranging from stunning ear studs to classic chokers. You can craft cubic zirconia the same way as a diamond, giving you the same cut and shape of a diamond. You don’t have to compromise on style and aesthetics when you use cubic zirconia. So the next time you go shopping for jewelry take a look at the cubic zirconia jewelry section, and get ready for the envious looks you’ll attract at the next show!