Educate me on Zircon..... :)

[Taylorbug!]

I have seen quite a few zircon lately...and from the description, the RI seems to be good (close to a diamond). What else should I know about zircon. If you have any would you please post pics.

 

[chrono]

It is generally not recommended as a ring stone because the facets abrade easily (brittle) although some do chose to do so. These are usually set in earrings and pendants. Blue zircons are typically heated and some zircons are metamict. Heating is so common that nobody really asks about heat treatment or discloses it. Also, they come in a variety of colours like green, red, etc.
http://www.geo.utexas.edu/courses/347k/redesign/gem_notes/zircon/zircon_main.htm
http://www.acstones.com/gemofmonth/1999/gemofmonth.1.99.html

 

[pwendyp]

I have this one...

Cut by Gene at http://www.precisiongem.com/ and weighing 3.52ct.

It is just beautiful...and yes, still unset even after quite some time! I just can't bring myself to part with it...or risk it! It's fragile as a stone, and I'll let the experts tell you the techie data as to Mohs etc. But heck, does it sparkle! A good stone choice for a piece that wont take any battering or daily 'work a day jewellery' wearing.

Blues are good - try for Cambodian. Good luck!

 

[Kismet]

Here's my cushion orangy zircon ring. Not only did I set it as a ring but I bezeled it too! (Well, not me precisely, setting done by Michael E.).



My round blue zircon in a setting purchased at Intergem. (It's not really green, that's just the reflection of my outside table.)



My blue zircon pears from mastercut gems and the freebie rounds he sent with them.

 

[Arcadian]

I love zircon (its my birth stone) one thing I don't like so much is how some colors can "black out" in direct sunlight.

Wildfish has a unheated blue zircon (maybe I should say had) To which they said it was unheated. I would love to know what tests where done to make this determination as what I've seen written here on this board, there's no way to tell if its heated or not.

-A

 

[chrono]

My sole zircon: 3 ct concave faceted blue zircon faceted by Richard Homer.

 

[rparker1998]

My sole zircon: 3 ct concave faceted blue zircon faceted by Richard Homer.

WOW!!!!

Drool.....

 

[Pandora II]

I love Zircon and have a fairly big collection of them - I especially like the reddish brown ones. However I wouldn't set them except as earrings - they're really brittle... they're not hard to ID in old jewellery as they're normally chipped to pieces.

I have one in my study stones collection that came out of an old ring - the parts protected by the setting are still polished but the rest looks like a chipped up piece of beach glass!

Setting one in a ring except as very occasional, super careful wear is asking for trouble.

 

[Taylorbug!]

I love Zircon and have a fairly big collection of them - I especially like the reddish brown ones. However I wouldn't set them except as earrings - they're really brittle... they're not hard to ID in old jewellery as they're normally chipped to pieces.

I have one in my study stones collection that came out of an old ring - the parts protected by the setting are still polished but the rest looks like a chipped up piece of beach glass!

Setting one in a ring except as very occasional, super careful wear is asking for trouble.

I bought my 1st one today. I do want to set it in a ring, maybe a 6 prong or bezel. What do you think???

 

[chrono]

It doesn't matter if bezeled (if your jeweller will even agree to this) or 6 prongs, the crown facets will abrade easily or chip.

 

[AustenNut]

I was (and still am) interested in zircon. I recently purchased a large red zircon that the vendor said was one of the best they'd ever carried. But in real life it was too dark, and the red was only seen in flashes (sort of like with garnets). I ended up returning the stone.

I'd still like to get some zircon, but I'm thinking a lighter color, like a buttery or straw yellow color.

 

[Pandora II]

I love Zircon and have a fairly big collection of them - I especially like the reddish brown ones. However I wouldn't set them except as earrings - they're really brittle... they're not hard to ID in old jewellery as they're normally chipped to pieces.

I have one in my study stones collection that came out of an old ring - the parts protected by the setting are still polished but the rest looks like a chipped up piece of beach glass!

Setting one in a ring except as very occasional, super careful wear is asking for trouble.

I bought my 1st one today. I do want to set it in a ring, maybe a 6 prong or bezel. What do you think???

Neither, set it in a 4 prong as a pendant. You may have an issue finding a jeweller who is prepared to set it for you as the chipping issue is such a problem.

As Chrono says, it doesn't matter what setting you use, the crown will get abraded and scratched to bits pretty fast.

ETA: Just wanted to add... I don't set my stones, I just keep them in stone boxes.

 

[arjunajane]

Neither, set it in a 4 prong as a pendant. You may have an issue finding a jeweller who is prepared to set it for you as the chipping issue is such a problem.

As Chrono says, it doesn't matter what setting you use, the crown will get abraded and scratched to bits pretty fast.

ETA: Just wanted to add... I don't set my stones, I just keep them in stone boxes.

Hi Pandora,
I hope you see this and the OP doesn't mind the slight threadjack, but I wanted to ask you about how you store your gems, as I am trying to choose a system at the moment.
I am looking at one of the typical glass-topped flat display cases for my growing 'collection', however having a lil trouble deciding what gem boxes to purchase - do you prefer the square ones, round? Any particular size you feel is most useful?

Any input would be welcomed

 

[arjunajane]

and just to help add to the OP - this is my one zircon, a yellow from Gene. I don't believe I will end up setting it, in the foreseeable future..

 

[cookies]

I got this white zircon from Dana yesterday. It's my first stone purchase. Not sure if it is considered fine quality.

 

[Pandora II]

Neither, set it in a 4 prong as a pendant. You may have an issue finding a jeweller who is prepared to set it for you as the chipping issue is such a problem.

As Chrono says, it doesn't matter what setting you use, the crown will get abraded and scratched to bits pretty fast.

ETA: Just wanted to add... I don't set my stones, I just keep them in stone boxes.

Hi Pandora,
I hope you see this and the OP doesn't mind the slight threadjack, but I wanted to ask you about how you store your gems, as I am trying to choose a system at the moment.
I am looking at one of the typical glass-topped flat display cases for my growing 'collection', however having a lil trouble deciding what gem boxes to purchase - do you prefer the square ones, round? Any particular size you feel is most useful?

Any input would be welcomed

What I really like are the small glass-topped squares, but they seem to be impossible to find over here without spending around £70 GBP a tray which I'm not prepared to do.

I've got around 300 cut stones which I keep in the little round plastic gem pots - they come in 50's either in black or white and I have boxes that hold two trays each. They're good for stones that are on the soft side which glass isn't always.

My main irritation is purely aesthetic and purely my being pedantic, but I like to keep all my stones in family groups - so all the garnets together, all the spinels together, all the zircons together etc. Most of them look good against white, but the paler stones (especially the zircons) look so much nicer on the black background - but I don't like having a white pad with white boxes and just the odd black one here and there...

So, do I split the groups, or let the stones look less beautiful or just wise up to the fact that these are storage boxes not permanent settings... Oh, one thing I did do that has been a big success was buying a round 1" punch on ebay and cutting circles in card to go in each one so it has the species, variety, ct weight etc on it. So much better than stickers and you can just switch them out if necessary.

My rough I keep in large glass-topped square boxes - mainly because I bought loads by mistake (they were cheap and I thought they were small ones not large ones). My study stones also live in these.

Mineral specimens go in a little chest of drawers thing that is designed to keep them.

Cabochons go into my very first gemcase which was a glass-topped box filled with the little glass-topped square boxes unless they are too big at which point they go into the 'rough' boxes.

A lot depends on what you are looking for - I wanted safe storage where I can access the stones easily and that provides volume storage in limited space.

If I wanted to beautifully display 25 stones then I would go for the first case I had again... size of boxes will be dictated by the size of the stones you have - the 1" rounds will easily take 3-4 carats, the square ones seem to be better with slightly smaller. I'd go with the smallest that work.

 

[cellentani]

My zircon from Gary, 5.4cts. I did set this one in a ring, but I only wear it occasionally.

 

[Fly Girl]

I got this white zircon from Dana yesterday. It's my first stone purchase. Not sure if it is considered fine quality.

I was admiring that zircon, Cookie. I think it would make a stunning pendant.

 

[GliderPoss]

My zircon from Gary, 5.4cts. I did set this one in a ring, but I only wear it occasionally.

Oooh may we please see a picture of the completed ring?

 

[Lee Little]

Though it is true that Zircons have a reputation for getting chipped, they are not all equally vulnerable. The difference is that the hardness of Zircon ranges from 6 to7.5 with 7.5 being the better grade. Also the SG ranges from 390 to 470 which is rare for any stone to have such variance.
I gave my wife a Blue Cambodian Zircon about 3-4 carats mounted in a 16 prong 18k yellow gold ring and she wore it for about 6 months without taking it off. During that time she made a lot of flower beds and helped me in the garden as well as doing the housework. She gave it back as she really only likes red stones but was just being polite by wearing it. I expected the Zircon to be trashed but was amazed that there was not a mark on it when examined with a 10x loupe. The gold was heavily scratched but the stone took the abuse.
Best regards, Lee

 

[arjunajane]

Neither, set it in a 4 prong as a pendant. You may have an issue finding a jeweller who is prepared to set it for you as the chipping issue is such a problem.

As Chrono says, it doesn't matter what setting you use, the crown will get abraded and scratched to bits pretty fast.

ETA: Just wanted to add... I don't set my stones, I just keep them in stone boxes.

Hi Pandora,
I hope you see this and the OP doesn't mind the slight threadjack, but I wanted to ask you about how you store your gems, as I am trying to choose a system at the moment.
I am looking at one of the typical glass-topped flat display cases for my growing 'collection', however having a lil trouble deciding what gem boxes to purchase - do you prefer the square ones, round? Any particular size you feel is most useful?

Any input would be welcomed

What I really like are the small glass-topped squares, but they seem to be impossible to find over here without spending around £70 GBP a tray which I'm not prepared to do.

I've got around 300 cut stones which I keep in the little round plastic gem pots - they come in 50's either in black or white and I have boxes that hold two trays each. They're good for stones that are on the soft side which glass isn't always.

My main irritation is purely aesthetic and purely my being pedantic, but I like to keep all my stones in family groups - so all the garnets together, all the spinels together, all the zircons together etc. Most of them look good against white, but the paler stones (especially the zircons) look so much nicer on the black background - but I don't like having a white pad with white boxes and just the odd black one here and there...

So, do I split the groups, or let the stones look less beautiful or just wise up to the fact that these are storage boxes not permanent settings... Oh, one thing I did do that has been a big success was buying a round 1" punch on ebay and cutting circles in card to go in each one so it has the species, variety, ct weight etc on it. So much better than stickers and you can just switch them out if necessary.

My rough I keep in large glass-topped square boxes - mainly because I bought loads by mistake (they were cheap and I thought they were small ones not large ones). My study stones also live in these.

Mineral specimens go in a little chest of drawers thing that is designed to keep them.

Cabochons go into my very first gemcase which was a glass-topped box filled with the little glass-topped square boxes unless they are too big at which point they go into the 'rough' boxes.

A lot depends on what you are looking for - I wanted safe storage where I can access the stones easily and that provides volume storage in limited space.

If I wanted to beautifully display 25 stones then I would go for the first case I had again... size of boxes will be dictated by the size of the stones you have - the 1" rounds will easily take 3-4 carats, the square ones seem to be better with slightly smaller. I'd go with the smallest that work.

ah Pandora, Thankyou!
You are a wealth of knowledge and I really do appreciate you taking the time to answer my question at length!
A friend put me in touch with one of those companies that supply everything to the trade, and they sent me a tonne of catalogues with storage options, however I really didn't know where to start with selecting one.
Your tip on the card instead of stickers is also a good one, you sound very organized!

I have taken note of everything you've suggested and will follow up - I too prefer the square glass topped ones, but will have to see what the cost is. You sound like you have an amazing collection - not to pry, but it would be excellent if you wouldn't mind to take some photos to share one day

Of course, neither my current nor prospective collection is anywhere near yours, however they have 'outgrown' my jewellery box



Thanks again for your help

 

[Taylorbug!]

My zircon from Gary, 5.4cts. I did set this one in a ring, but I only wear it occasionally.

Need to see hand shots...Please! Love that color!~

 

[cellentani]

My zircon from Gary, 5.4cts. I did set this one in a ring, but I only wear it occasionally.

Oooh may we please see a picture of the completed ring?

Hey HotPozzum, I found this setting at Intergem and had it set in NYC.

 

[arjunajane]

beautiful piece and photo Cell!

 

[colorluvr]

My zircon from Gary, 5.4cts. I did set this one in a ring, but I only wear it occasionally.

Oooh may we please see a picture of the completed ring?

Hey HotPozzum, I found this setting at Intergem and had it set in NYC.

Gorgeous!!!!

 

[colorluvr]

I have three zircons set in rings and they still look just fine, but I didn't pay a lot for any of the stones and I just figured that if they got worn, I would swap them out.

 

[Largosmom]

Cellantini...yowza!

 

[Fly Girl]

My zircon from Gary, 5.4cts. I did set this one in a ring, but I only wear it occasionally.

Oooh may we please see a picture of the completed ring?

Hey HotPozzum, I found this setting at Intergem and had it set in NYC.

Gorgeous! Took my breath away. Lovely ring and a great photo!