I've had guys come into the Jewelry Store looking for Engagement Rings. The funny thing is, they ask for a Cubic Zirconia (a.k.a. CZ) in the center instead of a real Diamond. They'll laugh cheaply and say something stupid like "
She won't know the difference!"
HA! Like Hell she won't!
Trust me guys, Woman know Diamonds, and Women know Costume Jewelry. They'll know the difference between a Fake Diamond, (that CZ you want to buy) Versus a Genuine Diamond. You can't fool a Women, after all, Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend! Plus, they've been looking at Diamonds their whole lives, dreaming of the day they get a Diamond Engagement Ring. They'll know!
CZ's are the most popular Diamond Substitute in the World. CZ's are fake Diamond look-a-likes that are man-made and grown in laboratories. They come in Grades A through AAAAA. (That's 5 A's for 5 Grades!) All those A's are crazy and confusing. When you hear you're getting a Grade A CZ, you'd automatically think you're getting the top of the line, but Grade A is the lowest Grade. Grade A is the worst and the easiest to spot as a "Fake" Diamond. Grade AAAAA is the best. They look better and last longer. But will it fool your Fiancee? Maybe! But not for long.
There are a couple of good ways to tell the difference between a Cubic Zirconia (Zirconian, Zirconium, lots of people call them different names.) from a Real Diamond.
Here's the breakdown:
The #1 way to tell a CZ from a Diamond is also the quickest way... Jewelers can look at a stone and know if it's a CZ in about 2 seconds. It's because the flashes of color! (See Picture) CZ's have less 'White' Flashes of light (Brilliance) and more 'Colored' Flashes of light (Fire) than a Diamond. That's the easiest way to tell when you look at a questionable stone. Can you see tons of rainbow colors dancing out of the stone? If the stone looks too colorful it's probably a CZ. CZ's have a higher dispersion of prismatic light. Let's move on...
CZ's are Colorless! (Pure White) Their body tone is void of any color or off-white like most Diamonds. CZ's are compared to a color rating of 'D' on the Diamond Color Grading Chart. Most Diamonds found on the market today have a Near Colorless rating, in the G-H-I-J range. A Colorless Diamond is rare, and a D Colorless Diamond (Which is the best) is almost impossible to locate.
CZ's are normally cut and polished differently than a Diamond to maximize the Brilliance and Fire a CZ gives off. CZ's are also Flawless! Big Clue! If you use a 10x Jeweler's Loupe, you shouldn't be able to see any flaws in a CZ. They are perfectly clean. Too perfect. Diamonds have flaws, CZ's don't! And while you're louping it, look at the facets of a CZ versus a Diamond. The edges of the cuts, where the facets meet, will differ. On a CZ the edges are smooth and rounded off. On a Diamond, they will almost be a knife edge, sharp, clean, very crisp!
But what about Hardness, Heat and Size? Read on...
