Saturday, December 20, 2008

Cubic Zirconia - A Diamond's Best Friend!

By Ned Dagostino

Diamonds are forever and there's no doubting that! But the price of genuine diamond jewelry can daunt a prospective buyer. Cubic zirconia jewelry is a suitable alternative for the real article in such a case. Cubic zirconia is often derogatorily called "fake" diamond. The fact is that cubic zirconia is a semiprecious gemstone which so closely resembles a diamond that there is practically no visual differentiation.

Cubic zirconia has almost all the qualities of a diamond, albeit in lesser quantities. For example, the brilliance of a cubic zirconia is slightly less than that of a diamond, the clarity of a cubic zirconia is slightly less than that of a diamond, the durability of a cubic zirconia is moderately less than that of a diamond, and finally, the hardness of a cubic zirconia is moderately less than that of the real gemstone. There is a market for real diamond jewelry and there is a bona fide thriving market for imitation diamond jewelry. So there's nothing "fake" about imitation diamond jewelry. In the imitation diamond jewelry market, cubic zirconia is the most valued gemstone, beating other diamond wannabes hollow.

All that brilliance is yours at a fraction of the price of a real diamond. This is what makes it so appealing to fashion conscious buyers: you get the look and feel of the genuine article and end up paying less than a quarter of the latter's price, and sometimes much less than even that depending on the setting, cut and quality of the cubic zirconia.

Many people are chary of wearing cubic zirconia jewelry for fear of being "caught out" by the gemstone cognoscenti. No need to worry! Gemstone experts themselves are often victims of gemstone frauds, because they could not tell cubic zirconia from the genuine gemstone! And that after meticulous technical scrutiny, under controlled conditions. Somebody coming up to you at that real big embassy party and saying: "Madame, that is cubic zirconia jewelry you're wearing!", that's just not going to happen! Yes, the opposite can take place with some catty ladies purposely mistaking your genuine diamonds for those "fake diamonds, what are they called, dahling?" So, judge for yourself, is cubic zirconia jewelry really bad for your public image?

One point of difference which is rather glaring and amusing at the same time is that cubic zirconia is flawless, whereas most jewelry diamonds have flaws which range from the indescribably minute (good quality, jewelry grade diamonds) to the noticeable (poor quality, industrial quality diamonds).

Cubic zirconia not only looks like diamond it is remarkably similar in all the other important characteristics of diamond. The brilliance is there, the clarity is there, the durability and hardness are all there. The only drawback is that these qualities are less in cubic zirconia. How much less depends on the quality of the cubic zirconia. The difference will be less than noticeable in good quality cubic zirconia, and noticeable in poor quality cubic zirconia. This difference will naturally affect the price of the cubic zirconia. The price of high quality cubic zirconia will be less than half the price of good quality diamond, whereas the price of poor quality cubic zirconia will drop to a tenth of the price of good quality diamond. Cubic zirconia jewelry is ideal for dressing up for all but the most exclusive occasions. This protects your diamond jewelry from accidental loss and even theft.

Cubic zirconia can come in handy for dressing up a great outfit and turning it into something elegant and special. All forms of jewelry like earrings, pendants, rings, and brooches are suitable settings for cubic zirconia.

Cubic zirconia jewelry will enhance your jewelry collection in a most affordable way. With cubic zirconia jewelry, you don't have to sacrifice or compromise on quality or aesthetics to get that diamond-like brilliance and classic effect. - 16651

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