Cubic Zirconia, often referred to as “fake” diamonds, have been tarnished with a bad reputation in the recent past. Cubic Zirconia rings were often used by con artists to replace a real ring in decades past. For the first few years after the invention of these stones in the 70’s, con men were doing roaring trade on this type of fraud. This led a lot of people swearing they’d never buy one again, as they thought they were buying diamonds.
In the last 10 years, now that most jewellers and buyers can tell the difference (they are subtle, but easily recognized when you know what you’re looking for), people are seeking them as a viable alternative to diamond jewellery.
A friend of mine was engaged recently, her fiancée bought her a ring which looked amazing, and impressed all of us with its brilliance and the beautiful stones in it. Only later did she drop into conversations that it was actually all zirconia. Her beau had another ring which was old and tarnished, but had a big diamond in it which her was getting custom designed in a new ring. Every fiancée wants to be able to impress her friends with her new ring.
Another friend of mine decided that she wanted to get in on the trend of right hand rings, after seeing Michelle Obama’s new gift from her husband Barrack. She’d seen one on Jennifer Lopez, and on Oprah, and decided she deserved one too. I explained the significance of it, that they were custom made for highly successful people, and often cost upwards of 50,000 dollars US. She wouldn’t be deterred, and found one for a reasonable price which was very close to a replica of Oprah’s. I wondered where she found the money, because she’s far from rich, but the 22 stones were Cubic Zirconia. I was just as impressed.
The fact is that a stone which is made of cubic zirconia is actually more visually appealing than a diamond. Sure, it is missing the many qualities of longevity that are associated with a diamond, but for pure visual appeal, a cubic zirconia refracts light, and has a higher level of “fire” than your average diamond. They can also be cut in more ways, and of course, cost a fraction of the price of your average diamond.
The trade off that you make is that it will not likely retain it’s visual appeal for as long as a diamond will. In most cases, this isn’t the biggest issues anyway, so I would go a zirconia in alot of instances, as at the end of the day, you’re looking to accessorize a piece to an outfit, not the other way around.
