Cubic zirconia, or CZ, is a synthetic stone that convincingly simulates diamonds. Cubic zirconia jewelry looks and feels just like real diamonds. It offers the same brilliance of, and often superior clarity to, diamond. Even professional jewelers can't tell the difference between CZ jewelry and diamonds with the naked eye. However, the one difference that is easy for everyone to see is the price - you can buy cubic zirconia jewelry that looks like diamond jewelry for a fraction of the price.

How is cubic zirconia made?

Cubic zirconia is created by applying incredible heat and pressure to the mineral zirconium dioxide, inducing it to crystallize into a cube structure. This process takes incredible temperatures of nearly 3000 Celsius. The resulting material can be cut and polished in the same manner as natural gemstones.

What makes CZ jewelry so special?

Though it is most popular as a diamond simulant, CZ jewelry is beautiful and attractive in its own right. There are very few substances harder than CZ on Earth. (It lies somewhere between emerald and ruby in the Moh's hardness scale.) The clarity is superb, most likely better than all but the rarest diamonds. CZ is cut with the same exacting tolerances and proportions as in diamond cutting.

I have found a phrase describing CZ jewelry that I like very much:

"Your cubic zirconia engagement ring is not an imitation diamond ring, it is a genuine cubic zirconia engagement ring."

See our Titanium Rings category for some great cubic zirconia rings.