Substitute of diamond created are numerous: firstly, strass in the 18th century in leaded glass, synthetic spinel, fabulite or even yag at the beginning of the 20th century… It is the cubic zirconia, created in 1973, which finally wins the heart of high jewellery. In fact, cubic zirconia, once shaped at the correct size, was hardly recognizable – even by professionals – due to the similarity in properties between diamond and CZ.
With its great resistance to high temperatures, cubic zirconia is one of the best possible alternatives to diamond, especially for gem-setting. Far from the remarkable fusion temperature from the diamond culminating at 3 546,85°C, CZ can still be heated up to 2 680°C.
CZ is also a synthetic stone with a wide dispersion (0.058- 0.066), even wider than diamond (0.044), which means it gives off a strong sparkle – it is said to glow with a thousand lights… This is what makes cubic zirconia so special compared to its competitors and makes it one of the best alternatives to diamond!
Besides, CZ is particularly resistant, unlike strass which is widely used in jewelry. On Mohs scale, measuring hardness of materials, it is indeed at 8.5 when diamond is at the maximum index of 10. In comparison, the synthetic crystal – as for Swarovski – has a hardness of 7. The higher is the hardness, the more intact in time will the stone remain: diamond for example will never show a scratch on its surface.
