Cubic Zirconia Jewelry Versus Diamonds Jewelry Diamonds have been utilized for jewelry for thousands of years. It is judged that they were first used and actively mined 3,000 years ago in India, but there is also evidence that it was used there about 6,000 years ago. In those days it was virtually impossible to cut or polish the diamonds. The recognition of diamonds as jewelry really rose in the Eighteenth Century, when more 'contemporary' techniques allowed the acts of cutting and polishing to be done more easily. Successful advertising tactics helped make diamonds more desirable to the masses. Cartels of diamond miners and retailers such as De Beers restricted the supply of diamonds which has successfully held the price unnaturally high for decades. An example of highly successful advertising is Argyle or brown diamonds in Australia Brown diamonds were thought to be useless for jewelry because of their dirty colour. However, one mine in Australia produces 7,000 kg of brown diamonds a year, so initiated a campaign to make them acceptable. These days, they can be worn as jewelry in Australia and sell well. Because of the high price of diamonds and the restricted quantity, jewelers have sought a man-manufactured, cheaper substitute. Cubic Zirconia is one of the best man-made diamond-like materials that they have come up with thus far. Some individuals would rather buy cubic zirconia than real diamonds because they do not like to be manipulated and in the end cheated by the diamond firms. Surveys suggest that numerous diamonds have been improved to increase their apparent value and that much too many diamonds are too highly priced. Some others are shying away from diamonds for factors of conscience. 'Blood Diamonds' and forced child labour have hit the headlines. The conditions in these forced labour camps is horrendous and was accurately portrayed in the film 'Blood Diamond' with Leonardo DiCaprio. Cubic zirconia is a very decent copy of diamonds and is hard to distinguish from the real thing without specialist tools and a thorough knowledge of gemstones. Many well-known rich people are refusing to wear diamonds, not because they cannot afford them, but because of their above associations. There are a number of other options to cubic zirconia including moissanite and nexus, but cubic zirconia is the firm favourite. Russian cubic zirconia is among the principal types of the 'gemstone'. It is worth mentioning here that cubic zirconia does not exist in nature, although its raw form zircon (zirconium silicate) and zirconium dioxide does. Russian cubic zirconia is made to the specifications laid down by the Gemological Institute of America.
If you are happy to wear cubic zirconia, you will be following the green route in jewelry and saving lots of money as well. Cubic zirconia is approximately 25% of the price of diamonds, so you could afford to spend more on the setting rather than on the stone. Cubic zirconia looks great in a solid platinum or pure gold mounting. Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of topics, and is now concerned with Amber in Poland. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Jewellry and Watches.