Every woman's cherished dream is to have a diamond jewelry. In recent years, a lot of products with artificial stones (zircons , cubic zirconias) of the highest quality have appeared on sale, and it is completely incomprehensible at first glance - how to distinguish cubic zirconia from a diamond? To do this, you need to know a little about the origin of cubic zirconias and their characteristics.
What is cubic zirconia?
Cubic
zirconia is a synthetic crystal artificially created in the laboratory of the Lebedev Physical Institute of the USSR, which is
zirconium dioxide in its structure
. This material was originally not intended for jewelry at all, it was necessary for creating a laser, as it was one of its constituent elements. This artificial crystal had the desired optical properties and was free from the defects that are inherent in natural stones. Its first purpose is a high-quality lens for
optical devices, quantum generators. Zirconia withstands aggressive environments, high temperatures (more than 2,500 degrees), which allows its use in the chemical industry. But thanks to its high physical characteristics, very quickly the purest crystal cubic zirconia began to be used in jewelry as an artificial diamond. How to distinguish cubic zirconia from a diamond?
There are special gemological tests to determine which stone is in front of you. By the way, cubic zirconia can imitate sapphires, rubies and other stones. A bit of observation and knowledge about the composition of crystals - and you can show the master class "How to distinguish cubic zirconia from a diamond."
Choose a diamond
The first and most important quality of a diamond is hardness. On a scale of hardness of minerals, diamond occupies the highest step, that is, it can not be scratched with anything, only with the same diamond. Zirconia is much softer. You can try to hold the diamond on the glass - and it will leave a scratch. Zirconia is not able to scratch hard minerals, even ordinary glass.
The next point is inclusion. All natural stones have inclusions to one degree or another — cracks, color changes, etc. You should be aware that pure water diamonds (without inclusions) are extremely rare in nature and are fabulously expensive.
Try to look at the light through a faceted diamond - a diamond. If it is a real stone, you will see only a luminous dot in the center due to the refraction of rays from the rear faces. But light passes through the artificial crystal, and you can see through the large artificial stone in the ring the finger on which this ring is worn.
But the most reliable test is conducted by a gemologist for thermal conductivity. To do this, you need a special device. It will show the level of thermal conductivity from the surface of the stone. Natural diamond has very high thermal conductivity. It is impossible to create an artificial crystal with the same high rate.
And the easiest way to distinguish cubic zirconia from a diamond is for the price. How much does cubic zirconia and a diamond of the same size cost? Even a small diamond with low performance is a valuable natural stone. Therefore, jewelry with diamonds, even with diamond chips, will be much more expensive than products with large and clean, but artificial cubic zirconias.