In my previous essay on "Diamonds & Cubic Zirconia gemstones", I briefly touched upon their location and the names. Here they are again, but now in colour for easier identification.
I'm not going to go into any form of a dissertation or explanation, these two 'attachments' speak for themselves.
The differences are many and G.I.A. notes are acting as a guide for me. From my own experience of 64 years on the bench, I will do my best. Where my knowledge is lacking, I gladly thank G.I.A. for their undivided assistance.
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The official name of a Diamond & Cubic Zirconia
Diamond: the correct name is "Full Cut". Every diamond has 57 Facets,
"Single-Cut": Has 8 Facets from the "Girdle to the Table" and 8 more Facets below the "Girdle to Culet" (point of the Pavillion). The number is 16 facets.
Cubic Zirconia: As many facets as allowed depending on the size of the stone.
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Girdle Thickness:
Diamond: Has a Polished Girdle.
CZ: Very rarely do they have a thin Girdle.
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Stone Colour:
Diamond: The range is from a "D-E-F" (colourless, "G-H-I" (little yellow),
"J-K-L", (light yellow colour)
CZ: Clear
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Hardness: (Rated on the Moh's Scale).
Diamond: Rated as a 10.
Cubic Zirconia: 8 - 8.5
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Affects by Acidic liquids:
Diamond: Not affected. These stones can be cleaned with "Boracic Acid".
CZ: The effects are the same as the Diamond.
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Definition of "Clarity Grades". (see G.I.A. supplied grades)
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When either stone is inverted, what will be seen? (see attached diagram)
Diamond: All of the light will be reflected back to the observer.
CZ: The stone will appear to be transparent. What will also be seen as a "Halo" of reflected light bouncing back through the "Crown Facets".
Where does the light travel through each of the stones? (see attached diagrams)
Diamond: Reflected light is bounced back to the viewer, hence the diamond has a "Sparkle" that the CZ doesn't even come close to.
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What are the available sizes?
Diamond: I've recently set diamonds measuring 0.075 mms or .03 points. The largest stone can be as ( ? carats) depending on what "Mother Nature" has created for 'us'.
CZ: My honest guess is 1mm or whatever the customer wants.
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Where are these two stones mined, or created?
Diamond: Diamonds are 'found' ONLY in the earth named "Blue Pipe". These 'pipes' are found in Northern Canada, South Africa, Australia and Russia. These diamonds are now 'lab-created' under extremely high pressure & temperatures.
If you wish to research further, I suggest GOOGLE "Lab-Created Diamonds".
CZ: These cubic zirconia are all lab-created, aka "artificially made".
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What shapes do these stones come in?
Diamond: Rectangular, Round, Marquise, Oval, Square and Pear-Shape. (Did I miss anything?)
CZ: These 'lab-created' stones come in the same shapes as the Diamond.
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Prices for these stones? (Let's use a size of 1.00 carat.)
Diamond: As a fair price for an F-G colour and VS-2 quality, this is also depending on the "country of origin" quotations at $12,000.00.
CZ: Would you believe $30.00 for the same size as quoted above?
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Do these stones contain 'Inclusions'?
In every diamond, there will be crystalline defects or inclusions. The only diamond without any defects are named "Flawless" or "Internally Flawless" These stones are very high in their pricing as they are extremely rare.
CZ: All cubic zirconias are free of any natural growth defects. To examine any CZ there won't be any tell-tale aberrations, these are all lab-created.
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What is a "Carat" or "Karat"? The word Carat is derived from "Carob seed" as a unit of measurement used only for Diamonds. Karat is used only for Gold.
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FYI: Diamonds will always retain their colour, CZ on the other hand will tend to lose their overall lustre. Therefore 'continual cleaning' is required.
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Will a Diamond get scratched after decades of continual use? The answer is NO!
CZ: will eventually get scratched why? The "Moh's Scale of Strength" is only 8.0 as mentioned, they are just a softer stone.
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Will you see any 'polishing marks' on either stone?
As "My Father", (z"l) was a "Diamond Polisher, by profession in Belgium. He always told me that every diamond polisher will leave little lines on the facets during their 'polishing processes'. These days machines do much of the polishing instead of my hand. This is necessary for the small 0.01-point stones, can you really imagine hand-polishing 425 of those little 0.075mm diamonds I had a few months ago?
CZ: These irregular polishing marks will not be evident.
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What is "Triple-EX" or "EX - EX - EX"?
"Excellent cut" All of the polishing of the Facets is equally proportioned to each other all around the 57 facets of the diamond.
"Excellent colour" The stone has no colour.
"Excellent quality" All of the angles of that stone meet G.I.A. standards.
Let me state that CZ does not have any of these "Triple-EX" designations.
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"IMPORTANT DIAMOND VOCABULARY"
(My reference booklet was used in conjunction with the official "Gemological Institute of America" issued "Diamond Issued Vocabulary")
