Say the word zircon out loud to most people and watch what happens. Nine times out of ten, their brain autocorrects it to cubic zirconia, and you can see the slight shift in their expression, from mild interest to "oh, so it's fake diamonds." It happens constantly, and it is, frankly, a bit unfair, because zircon and cubic zirconia are two completely different things.
They only share a Name.
Zircon is a naturally occurring mineral, formed deep in the earth, and it has been mined and worn as a genuine gemstone for thousands of years. Cubic zirconia, on the other hand, is a man-made material, created in a laboratory in the 1970s specifically to imitate diamonds at a low cost. Beyond a similar-sounding name, they have almost nothing in common.
One of the Oldest Minerals on Earth.
This is the part that tends to surprise people most. Zircon crystals have been found that are estimated to be billions of years old, making zircon one of the oldest minerals ever identified on the planet, worn as jewellery since ancient times, long before anyone had conceived of a lab-grown diamond simulant.
Genuine Sparkle of its Own.
Zircon has a naturally high refractive index, which is a technical way of saying it bends and reflects light beautifully, giving it a brightness and fire that genuinely rival some far more expensive stones. This is part of why it was often mistaken for diamonds in the past, not because it was trying to be a fake, but simply because it was a naturally brilliant stone in its own right.
More Colours Than People Expect.
While blue zircon tends to be the best-known and most widely available, the stone also occurs naturally in green, yellow, brown, and red. Blue zircon, in particular, is usually the result of heat treatment, a common and accepted practice in the gemstone world, which brings out the especially vivid colour it is known for.
Why the Confusion?
Mostly, it is simply down to the name. Cubic zirconia came along in the seventies, borrowed a name that sounded scientific and vaguely similar to an existing mineral, and the two have been mixed up in casual conversation ever since. It does zircon a genuine disservice, lumping a naturally formed, historically significant gemstone in with a synthetic diamond substitute it has nothing to do with.
Visit us at Azzallure and see the difference for yourself. Once you do, you will probably never mix the two up again.