Cubic Zirconia stones are cut from crystals grown in a laboratory. First used in the Russian space program to serve as a window to photograph through, it was not used in jewelry until 1969 when somebody decided to facet the material. Today, Cubic Zirconia (or CZ) is used extensively in jewellery as an inexpensive diamond substitute.

Although CZ's may look like a real diamond, it is possible to tell the difference. Cubic Zirconia's are heavier the real diamonds (about twice as heavy) and conduct much less heat. As well, because Cubic Zirconias are not as hard as real diamonds, under a jewelers 10x loupe you will be able see that the facets don't point properly and facet junction (where the facets intersect with each other) is rounded kind of with a lot of abrasions along the junction.

Cubic Zirconia comes in many different qualities, depending on the grade and purity of the ingrediants used, and how much heat and pressure were used when it was created. Zirconium oxide, the main component in cubic zirconia is placed in a container formed of water cooled copper pipes. Metallic zirconium is then placed in the center of the powder and melted using high frequency radio waves. This in turn causes the zirconium oxide powder to melt from the center outward (like a microwave heats food). As this mixture cools, the cubic zirconia crystallizes. Different manufactures use slightly different mixtures of ingrediants, and different cooling times to create their own specials brands of cubic zirconia.

Because cubic zirconia is manufactured, it is usually available in a variety of colors. You can get CZ's in all of the birthstone colors (and many more!) by adding different minerals during its creation.

Although cubic zirconia jewelry is often made using stones that are machine cut and have been laboratory-made, there are various grades based on cut, color and clarity. As with any jewelry purchace, you may want to inspect your cubic zirconia jewelry for flaws that may not be obvious at first glance.

Moh's scale of hardness classifies cubic zirconia as 8-8.5. This hardness allows for frequent wear of your cubic zirconia jewelry and cleaning using gem cleaner. Regular cleaning will maintain the brilliant shine that resembles the fire of a diamond.