The Difference Between CZ Jewellery and Crystal Jewelry
Cubic Zirconia or CZ is a cubic, synthetic crystalline form of ZrO2 or Zirconium Dioxide. It is considered to be a substitute for diamonds in jewelry. CZ imitations can easily deceive even the most experienced and highly trained gemologists.
A thorough gemological inspection can reveal the basic difference between Cubic Zirconia and crystals. Most gemologists use loupe equipment, a very small magnifying glass, or a microscope.
Diamond-like?
It is worth mentioning that some properties of Cubic Zirconia are pretty similar to crystals like a diamond. This is the primary reason why the Russians used CZ in laser optics. You must have seen people comparing Crystals with Cubic Zirconia. Since CZ is mainly used to replace crystals and other jewelry elements, people want to understand the difference between them.
Molecular Structure
First of all, let us discuss the molecular structure of both these substances. We’ve tried to simplify the explanation so everyone can easily understand the difference. As mentioned earlier, Cubic Zirconia or CZ is the cubic, crystalline form of ZrO2 or Zirconium Dioxide. In simple terms, it means Cubic Zirconia is optically flawless and hard. In addition to this, it appears to be very high quality, quite similar to diamond.
Color and Flaws
It is worth mentioning that many crystals are naturally impure. Therefore, they may have a lot of inclusions or flaws. For instance, trigons or remnants of original crystal faces. Some crystals even have shades of particular colors in their appearance due to differently colored foils in the background. It is pretty hard to find crystals without any color.
On the other hand, the production and manufacturing of Cubic Zirconia or CZ are entirely flawless. In addition to this, since Cubic Zirconia is produced from synthetic matter, it is completely colorless. There are no impurities at all.
It is very easy to identify the flaws in crystals or Cubic Zirconia these days. Most gemologists use a standard instrument to magnify the image of the stone around ten times its original size. In Cubic Zirconia, the facets’ direction is never properly pointed. Moreover, the edges or intersection points where different facets meet are more rounded off and smoother. When we talk about crystals, the edges or points of intersection usually form a sharper edge, which is crisp and clean, like in a knife.
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Style and Appearance
As a jewelry beader/maker or customer, the most crucial question you have to answer is whether Cubic Zirconia is prettier than crystal. This can be a very tough question to answer. Crystal always has a light, warm reflective quality that can never be overlooked.
On the other hand, CZ or Cubic Zirconia can have many facets and cuts. Due to this, Cubic Zirconia has a specific visual texture and depth. It won’t be wrong to say that both CZ and crystals have their charm somehow.
Silver ring with big CZ stone