By Colette Bouchez for CountryDutchess.com
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend – unless of course she has some fabulous CZ’s – cubic zirconia “diamonds” that can rival the look of expensive stones at a fraction of the price.
But…there are CZs and there are CZs. And when it comes to choosing your cubic zirconia jewelry, it pays to be choosy, as not all stones are alike. While some can truly rival the look of a diamond – making it difficult for even a jeweler to glance the stone and know if it’s real - others can be a dead give-away-fake even to the untrained eye.
So, what should you look for – and more importantly avoid – when buying cubic zirconia jewelry? Here are few tips that can help.
While part of the charm of a cubic zirconia are those flashes of colored light that can emanate from a stone, the truth is, the more “color flashes” a stone gives off the less it looks like a diamond. The reason: Diamonds reflect only white light which is what gives them their brilliance. A top quality CZ will shine with mostly pure white or blue light – so if you’re going for the look of “real” go for stones with minimal color flashes.
Like diamonds, cubic zirconias are graded from A – which represents the lowest quality – through to AAAAA, which represents the highest quality. So what’s the difference? The higher the quality, the harder the stone and the more white light the stone reflects – so the more it will look like a real diamond. Although most costume jewelry is made with AA or AAA cubic zirconia, there are some lines which do feature AAAA or even AAAAA. So, if you’re spending more than $50 on a piece, it’s worth asking the grade of the stone. Most jewelers, even online jewelers, should have the answer. Some online stores post the quality of their CZs on their home pages, information pages or product descriptions pages.
Like a diamond, when it comes to choosing a cubic zirconia, clarity counts. This is the measure of how clear a stone looks to the eye. Some manufacturing processes cloud the stone slightly which in turn reduces the sparkle, and gives the jewelry a slightly grey-toned appearance. If your CZ stone does not look white, if you can’t see down into the center of the stone, then the clarity has been compromised. That means it not only looks less real, it also means it may not last as long as you would like.
Ads which call their CZ jewelry “synthetic diamonds.” are being somewhat deceptive. Creating a synthetic gem requires that the stone have the exact same physical and optical gemological properties as the real gem – but created in a lab instead of in a mine. Currently there are no synthetic diamonds available for widespread commercial sale, and if they are, they are priced on par with real diamonds. A cubic zirconia is not a synthetic diamond - it is a man-made stone that can look like a diamond, and that’s a big difference.
While a diamond is the hardest gemstone there is – it rates 10 on the Mohs scale, which is the measurement of how hard a stone is. But, a good cubic zirconia can come close - up to 8.5 on the Mohs scale. That said, there are also cubic zirconia that rate lower – and when they do, they can scratch easily. That’s because sand and dirt rate a 6 on the Mohs scale – so a stone which rates a 6 or lower can easily be scratched via normal every day wear. While this usually doesn’t matter much in earrings, it is key for rings and bracelets, which are subject to more bumps and grinds in the course of daily living. Virtually all AAAA and AAAAA CZ stones are 8.5 in hardness, so again, look for the stone rating to get the best buy for your money and a stone that lasts.
To read more tips on buying cubic zirconia jewelry, click here.
To learn more about any of the earrings featured just click the picture!
For round-the-clock fabulous time & money saving beauty and style advice visit CheapChicDiary.com - or visit us anytime at CountryDutchess.com - Your Source For Fabulous! Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2011 - All Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements. This article was originally published in Examiner.com
Tags: Cubic Zirconia; Cubic Zirconia Jewelry, CZ Jewelry, Cubic Zirconia Buying Tips, Colette Bouchez; CountryDutchess.com
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