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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() To My World Of Awesome Gems, Philately And Other Goodies Click Here To Enter ![]() ![]() ![]() FACETED OVAL SHAPE CUBIC ZIRCONIUM Colour - Golden Yellow. Size - ±7,00mm x ±5,00mm. Weight - 1,36cts. Clarity - Clean. Lustre - Stunning. Origin - Lab Created In Russia. Cut And Polish In Thailand. Cubic Zirconium {CZ} was discovered in its natural state in 1937 by two German mineralogists, von Stackelberg and Chudoba. It was in a highly metamict zircon given to them by one B.W. Anderson. The zircon contained tiny crystals that were determined to be the cubic form of zirconium oxide by X-ray diffraction. The two mineralogists thought so little of their discovery that they did not even give it a name, which is why it is still known by it's scientific name, CUBIC ZIRCONIUM. It was not until the 1970s, however, that Soviet scientists learned how to grow the crystals in the laboratory. In 1977, it was first marketed under the trade name Djevalite. But CZ really took off in the 1980's when Swarovski and Co., a world-renowned Austrian producer of leaded crystal, began producing Cubic Zirconia for mass consumption. A Cubic Zirconium is made through a complicated process and is made up of zirconium oxide and yttrium oxide. Together the two chemicals create a beautiful, radiant crystal. It takes around 2,760° C to melt the two chemicals together and the most important process is the cooling. The chemicals must be carefully cooled in order to create high quality flawless crystals. The Cubic Zirconium is a beautiful substitute for those who cannot afford a natural diamond or simply choose not to spend that much. Quality of 5A and better Cubic Zirconia look as good and in many cases, better than most natural diamonds. According to some, diamonds are actually quite worthless. It is only the brilliant marketing strategy by De Beers, which has resulted in them becoming so expensive. *********************************************************** ![]() ![]() |