Cubic Zirconia: High Quality Lab Gems
If you have been looking for an engagement ring, or some other form of traditional diamond jewellery, you have likely run into what is called cubic zirconia. Cubic zirconia, a low cost alternative to diamonds, is a synthetic crystalline material created in a lab. High quality lab gems are very popular; cubic zirconia has been mass produced commercially since the 1970s.
Cubic zirconia is beautiful to the naked eye, and with good upkeep makes for very dazzling jewellery. It is nearly impossible to tell it from a diamond, unless you are a professional jeweller.
Comparing Cubic Zirconia to Diamonds
As a high quality lab gem, cubic zirconia may look similar to the naked eye, but they are different from diamonds in some key aspects. In terms of weight, cubic zirconia is heavier than a diamond. However, when looking at cubic zirconia gems in stores, they will list a diamond equivalent karat weight. These high quality lab gems are not as hard as diamonds. Diamond is a 10 on the Mohs scale, corundum (ruby and sapphires) are 9, and cubic zirconia is 8.5.
A white cubic zirconia is truly colorless, unlike a diamond which always has some form of inclusions when untreated. Unlike diamonds, cubic zirconia can be made in other more colorful versions to match trends in the market of other gems.
Cubic zirconia create more flashes of color when held up to the light, and some are coated in a product to reduce the flashes of color and prevent scratching.
Grading of Cubic Zirconia
Cubic zirconia is compared to each other using the same qualities that diamonds and other gems use: color, clarity, cut, and carat weight. However, their grading is treated differently since high quality lab gems manufacturers create different quality cubic zirconia (e.g., some may be less durable, but cheaper). In general, they are graded in a five-tiered system from A to AAAAA. The store won’t often advertise the grade of their cubic zirconia high quality lab gems unless you specifically ask, as the grading is only listed when wholesale purchasing.
Affordable glam for every reason, in every season
Even though cubic zirconia are lab, not mined, gems, they are still a very viable option for all types of jewellery, such as necklaces, earrings, and engagement rings. Also, getting scratched or lost isn’t a huge issue with high quality lab gems such as cubic zirconia anyways, as this gem is very affordable to replace (this is also why cubic zirconia are also great as travel gems).
Cubic Zirconia Maintenance
High quality lab gems such as cubic zirconia should be stored separately from other gems of different Mohs scale durability; this will prevent your cubic zirconia from being scratched. You can clean a cubic zirconia using an ultrasonic jewellery cleaner, just make sure the setting material isn’t going to get damaged in the process. Dishwashing liquid and a very soft brush is all that is needed at a minimum to bring the shine back to a cubic zirconia.
If you are looking for high quality lab gems such as cubic zirconia, check out Web Gems for a great selection of cubic zirconia earrings. Click here to learn more.