Cubic zirconia is a man-made material used to imitate diamond and other gemstones commonly referred to as CZ. Cubic Zirconia has a thermal insulating property while diamond is a very efficient thermal conductor. It is therefore easy to separate diamonds from CZ with a simple thermal conductivity test like that found in most diamond testers.
There is an extremely rare natural form of Cubic Zirconia but everything used in jewelry production is the man-made variety.
Gemological Information for Cubic Zirconia
| Color: | Colorless, Pink, Red, Yellow, Orange, Blue, Purple, Green and Brown |
| Crystal Structure: | Cubic |
| Refractive Index: | 2.15 |
| Durability: | Excellent |
| Hardness: | 8.5 |
| Family: | |
| Similar Stones: | Diamond, Zircon, Strontium Titanate, Sphene, Synthetic Rutile, GGG, YAG, Spessartite and Demantoid |
| Treatments: | None |
| Country of Origin: | Man-Made |
Cubic Zirconia Care
| Ultrasonic Cleaning: | Safe |
| Steam Cleaning: | Safe |
| Warm Soapy Water: | Safe |
| Chemical Attack: | Chemical Attack |
| Light Sensitivity: | No Reaction |
| Heat Sensitivity: | Sensitive to High Temperatures |