Saturday, March 1, 2008

A Crash Course on Cubic Zirconia Jewelry

By Corey Landis
If you’re one of those people who have been pining for a piece of diamond jewelry your whole life but have been either unwilling or unable to shell out enough cash to do so, then you must have heard of cubic zirconia jewelry at least once. Cubic zirconia is, after all, one of the most popular diamond stimulants today.

Because of the high cost and rarity of real, gem-grade diamonds, there has been much need for other materials that have diamond-like characteristics. Such materials have been called diamond stimulants, and are used to make ornate pieces of jewelry.
Different materials have been used as diamond stimulants, many of them artificial, the most popular of which include high-leaded glass or rhinestones, and moissante, and cubic zirconia.

Jewelry made of cubic zirconia are often preferred over those that are made from other diamond stimulants because of its high visual likeness to real diamonds and its relatively low cost. While some might say that moissante jewelry resemble diamond jewelry better, it is much more expensive than cubic zirconia jewelry, thereby still making the latter more popular. Another problematic aspect of moissante jewelry is its limited availability compared to cubic zirconia jewelry.

Choosing any form of jewelry requires time and patience. If you’re buying cubic zirconia jewelry in particular, it would help to compare it side-by-side with authentic diamond jewelry. This way, you would be able to see how much it resembles the real thing.

You should also take note of the materials and quality used for the setting of your cubic zirconia jewelry, as these are just as important in making your cubic zirconia jewelry look and feel like actual diamond jewelry.
Finally, a word of caution: never pass cz jewelry as real diamond jewelry when it comes to insurance plans and policies. However similar your jewelry is to the real thing, expert jewelers and appraisers will be able to tell the difference.

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