Since coming to the world's attention in the 1830s, diamonds in has been a favorite of stones for jewelry. Not everyone can afford to buy diamonds, so the search for the best man-made version has been battled for years. Cubic Zirconia is considered to be the best man-made diamond for jewelry on the market today.
There are several reasons some people do not purchase diamond jewelry. The first on being the over-inflated price some believe has been controlled by the DeBeers diamond coalition. Many people believe the prices do not reflect the rarity of diamonds in a fair manner. There have also been studies done showing one third of every diamond sold in the United States today has been altered by an artificial means to increase the value of the diamond. The same studies show young couples on an average are paying 40% too much for their diamond engagement ring.
The price is not the only reason some people are no longer gravitating awary from diamond jewelry. There are the issues of the so called "blood diamonds" with the disturbing rumors of forced child labor and several other horrible human atrocities and cruelties. Well-know celebrities have brought it to the attention of Americans by the refusal to wear diamonds on the "red carpet" and have chosen to wear cubic zirconia stones in all their jewelry adornments for the "Oscar's" and other highly notable celebrity gatherings.
A good quality cubic zirconia in jewelry is practically identical from the mined diamonds. Even some jeweler can not tell the difference between a cubic zirconia and a diamond with out the aid of his gemologist's tool. The cost of cubic zirconia jewelry is about 75% less than the cost of a mined diamond.
There are other synthetic diamonds used in the market today to replace diamonds in jewelry settings. The moissanite is a mineral created by a laboratory as a good diamond replacement stone. It was introduced into the market in the 1990s. It has become the choice of some for their fine jewelry collection. There are those who prefer moissante to cubic zirconia. The moissante match diamond in the hardness of the mineral, but there is a downside. The cost is about $500 per carat and the moissante does not have the brilliance and fire of a diamond or the cubic zirconia.
Just recently introduced into the US jewelry market is the Diamond Nexus. The Diamond Nexus is a result of a new scientific processing technique. They are an excellent replacement stone for the mined diamond. They possess all the qualities of a diamond from the hardness to the brilliance and fire. They are only used in precious metal settings and are priced fairly reasonably at $79 a carat.
The Russian cubic zirconias are the cubic zirconia of the highest quality. The Russian cubic zirconia used in jewelry feature superior cutting and polishing techniques. Because of the masterful cutting and polishing techniques used to finish the stones, enhances the brilliance and fire of the stone creating a stone of a much higher quality than those mass produced and machine cut with very little polishing.
The Russian cubic zirconias used in jewelry are hand picked from the highest quality raw stones, hand cut by master cutters and hand polished. The specifications used for each of the Russian cubic zirconias are the same as those set down by the Gemological Institute of America for diamonds.
The Russian cubic zirconias are barely visible when compared to diamonds by experts. The experts must use advanced gemological tools to discern the differences between the Russian cubic zirconia and a diamond. Because the Russian cubic zirconia has more diffusion with light than a diamond, they have a profusion of fire and brilliance.
For my money, I will take a cubic zirconia jewelry over the other synthetic diamond jewelry any day.