White zircon - does anyone have one?

[beaujolais]

Does anyone have a white zircon and have you been happy with it? I LOVE dispersion and these are supposed to be good with that.

Thanks.

 

[Fly Girl]

Well, I''ve got a pair of mutt white zircon studs that I wear instead of my diamonds sometimes when travelling. They are fine for that, but don''t hold a candle to my "ideal" cut Blue Nile diamond studs. Like diamonds, zircons in a better cut would probably be a big help.

 

[chrono]

FYI: A zircon is rather soft and not recommended for a ring stone unless you are willing to find a replacement some time down the road.

 

[pwendyp]

hi there sonomacounty!

I've recently bought a white zircon, the pictures of it online were absolutely stunning. When it came it was a little more coloured than I thought it would be - but as I played with it, and got to 'know it' I just got crazy over the colour!

It's got a very pale honey hue to it, and maybe reminds me of a M/N/O diamond. The sparkle and dispersion are to die for, and it simply 'sings'

I am actually going to have this set into a ring, even though I am aware of the sometimes fragility of these stones, but I'm just going to wear it for 'best'! And, take good care of it when I do wear it.

I'm still unsure of which colour metal to set it into - jury is still out on that!

They are a stunning stone, just need a little extra care is all.

I'll find a picture or two to show you.

 

[beaujolais]

Thanks Wendy. It sounds Fantastic. I'm glad you are enjoying your Zircon.

I know people say not to put them into rings but with stones that are not that expensive, if it will do/be what you want in a ring, I wouldn't worry. My thinking is if it eventually gets damaged, it can be replaced.

Do you like vintage settings? Your M/N/O zircon might work well in one.

Best, Sonoma

 

[pwendyp]

These aren't going to be the best pictures, as it's night time now, and I have been messing with the camera setting today, and can't get them back to where I want them!!

I need a clear head and daylight to read the manual again!

The first one is pictured with 2 white amethysts topaz...second picture coming up

 

[pwendyp]

Second picture...

coooo...I so need to sort my camera out!! These pictures do not justice to this beautiful stone - it is cut with 'precision' as every 'gem' should be - it is stunning in real life.

 

[beaujolais]

Oh, it's beautiful, Wendy. I love the large facets. I bet it throws great color. You can see a few different colors in the photos. Thanks for putting the pics up.

 

[beaujolais]

 

[Proteus]

White zircon can be a very lovely stone... it can also be horribly junky. The problem with zircon is that it has rather strong double refraction, the stones will look very "fuzzy" if cut wrong. If the crystal axis is properly oriented, then they will appear sharp and much brighter. I''ve attached a picture of a blue zircon so you can see exactly what I mean. Diamonds are singly refractive, so they never display this doubling phenomenon.

Also, zircon isn''t actually that soft of a stone, it''s the fact that they are heat-treated to lighten, change or totally remove their color. The heat treating process makes zircon brittle and abrade easily. Unheated zircons are usually a bit tougher. Unfortunately, it''s rather common for zircons to have been heated...

But, all that aside, a good white zircon can be had. It just may not be that easy to find. I''d suggest carefully examining each one you see, and if it looks very fuzzy in the face-up position, avoid it. Also, brilliant style cutting with good polish and symmetry will help a lot with the fire and brilliance factors. A lot of white zircons that I have seen are cut and polished rather poorly. The dispersion (fire) figure for zircon is high, 0.039 I believe. It is quite beautiful in a well-cut stone. In comparison diamond is 0.044, sapphire is 0.18.

 

[beaujolais]

Thanks all.

I just bought these:

http://www.acstones.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=15&idproduct=1343

What do you think?

Thanks Proteus. Great information. The picture helped me really understand it. I appreciate it.

At 7.2 mms. it appears it will size up like a 1.25 ct. diamond would. Does that sound right?

 

[pwendyp]

hi again Sonoma

I just took a peek at your Zircons - they look gorgeous. Are you going to set them into earrings?

And thank you also Proteus...I wasn't aware about the heat treatment making a zircon a bit more fragile. Mine has been heat treated.

I would love to get it set into a bezel ring...not for wearing a lot - but rather a 'bling' ring, for wearing out...

In your experience, would a competent jeweller be ok putting a bezel around a zircon. The guy I have in mind does an awful lot of bezel work, and I have every faith in his abilities...just really wanted to know how safe this stone is going into a ring - or perhaps would it be better in a pendant...

So want it in a ring though - it is so so sparkly, it is stunning out in the sun.

many thanks

 

[Proteus]

Sonoma,

I''m glad that I could be of assistance. Those two white zircons look great, the polish/symmetry/proportions are good. I don''t see any obvious doubling/fuzziness, which is often a problem in the larger stones.

They should face up like 1.33ct diamonds, roughly. Diamonds of that diameter will range from about 1.25ct to 1.45ct or so, depending on proportions.

pwendyp, you could get away with putting a zircon in a ring, just make sure it isn''t sticking up in a high setting or anything. And a bezel would probably help, if you decide to go with a ring. Treat it extra carefully and there shouldn''t be any problems. I wouldn''t wear it every day, though. I''ve seen heavily damaged stones of a much higher hardness (topaz, sapphire, ruby..) in rings, so it all really comes down to how careful a person is with their jewelry. Zircon is just less forgiving

 

[beaujolais]

Thanks again, Proteus. I'm so grateful for all the wonderful, knowlegable people here.

Actually, Wendy, I plan to put it in a ring, x-prong setting (Abazias has a nice one that is not expensive) for occasional wear.

Do keep us posted about how you are setting your wonderful zircon.

 

[Proteus]

This is a pair of pastel pink zircon earrings I made for my wife a while back. They''re nearly white, so you can get an idea of what white zircons might look like as a pair of studs. These are pretty hard to tell from diamonds. I caught some of the dispersion in this shot.

 

[Proteus]

Another shot of the earrings. You can see some rainbows from the dispersion on the backdrop.

It''s a rather hard to photograph the dispersion without washing the shots out a bit, but they''re quite lively in person.

 

[beaujolais]

Fantastic, Tony. "Lively" is right. That''s the word that came to my mind when I took a good look at them.

 

[beaujolais]

Received the pair of white zircons. Fantastic. Great dispersion. Would have preferred less facets and larger facets but still great. ACS has Nice things.

 

[Proteus]

Cool. Don''t forget to show us pictures of the finished piece!

It''s hard to find zircons in simpler cuts... you''d probably only be able to get such stones through custom cutting. Actually, zircon used to commonly be cut in a modified round brilliant style, which had even more facets than normal. I never thought it was any serious benefit, though...

 

[beaujolais]

Thanks Tony. Btw, do you have your own business?

I don''t yet have a camera that does macro so I can''t put up photos yet. Thanks for asking, though. I love the faceting on Wendy''s (above photos) more, though.

Tell me, do you think the trend is going more towards larger faceting or smaller faceting, in general?

 

[Proteus]

Sonoma,
I''m in the process of starting my own business... it''ll happen eventually. Hopefully soon

Wendy''s stone is quite nice - it''s a good design for zircon. The larger facets usually show better dispersion, in my experience.

Macro mode is certainly an necessity for gem photography. It''s too bad that a lot of cameras just don''t do it well enough (or at all...)

Hmm... as far as cutting style trends, I think it largely depends on the cutter, but I''ve been noticing that custom cuts tend to have fewer facets than they used to. I think people are realizing that there is such a thing as too many facets. I see a lot of native weight-cut stones with zillions of facets, it just turns the refraction into a big blur of tiny glitter. Small facets are quite often subject to facet rounding (especially in native cuts,) so it''s nice to have some larger facets to reflect broad flashes. The flatness of them helps a lot with dispersion. Tons of little rounded facets gives stones a dull, boring look.

I also have been seeing some specialty round cut small diamonds that have about a million facets. It actually looks rather silly on 0.25 and 0.50 carat diamonds... I''m not sure why the cutters are doing it. They''re very glittery, but not that interesting. They would be much better suited on 3 to 5 carat stones.

 

[vespergirl]

I have a question - is zircon the same thing as cubic zirconia, or is it different? Is one a real stone and one synthetic? Thanks!

 

[Proteus]

Date: 9/11/2008 1:58:09 PM
Author: vespergirl
I have a question - is zircon the same thing as cubic zirconia, or is it different? Is one a real stone and one synthetic? Thanks!

They are different. Zircon is a naturally occurring gem. Cubic zirconia does occur in nature, but typically only as microscopic crystal inclusions inside other minerals. Most people are familiar with the very popular synthetic form of cubic zirconia, which is used to imitate all sorts of gems.

Their names are similar because they both contain the element zirconium. Natural zircon is a zirconium silicate, while cubic zirconia is a zirconium oxide. The "cubic" part comes from the fact that it has a cubic crystal system, the same as diamond. That makes it singly refractive. Natural zircon is of the tetragonal crystal system, and is doubly refractive, hence the fuzziness I mentioned earlier.

 

[LD]

I have this bracelet. The Zircons are pretty and do have some sparkle but they really don''t rival a diamond. (The bracelet has small white topaz in between).

 

[Proteus]

That reminds me of something that I''ve forgotten to mention - not all zircons are equal.

They actually have a fairly wide range of properties due to something called the metamict reaction. Basically, their crystal structure degrades over the millenia from damage by radiation. Gemologists call the highly degraded type "low zircon" and the least degraded type "high zircon." Intermediates are usually called "medium zircon."

"High" zircon has a refractive index of 1.92-1.98, with strong double refraction. The hardness is 7.5. The specific gravity is ~4.73.

"Low" zircon has a refractive index of typically around 1.81, but in extreme cases can be as low as 1.78. The double refraction is weak (or even nonexistent) in low zircon. The hardness is 6. The specific gravity is also lower, at 3.90 or so.

Medium zircon is basically anything between the other two.

So, you can see, with the range of properties, some zircons may look different than others. Unfortunately, separation can be a little difficult since they are all above the limits of a typical gemological refractometer. The specific gravity can be helpful, but measuring it can be impractical. There are some indications when they are in rough form, though. Even a "high" zircon isn''t optically as good as a diamond, but it''s about as close as you can get with a relatively common, natural stone.

 

[beaujolais]

Tony/Proteus:

"I think people are realizing that there is such a thing as too many facets."

YES and I do hope so. Maybe when you get Proteus Fine Gems, Inc., going you can cut us some chunky, big facet zircons.

Now, do you mean that the chemical structure of all zircons degrade over time? How long of a time are we speaking? (Or do I have this all wrong?)

I do think I found some really pretty stones with these, even if I''d prefer less facets. This is the setting it is going in:

http://www.abazias.com/database/NewEngagementInfo.asp?stock=ENG-S-16-9267

as an alternate ring to my diamond cushion.

Thanks again,
Best, Sonoma

 

[Proteus]

Sonoma,

That''s a lovely setting, I''m sure it''ll look great in that!

About the degradation: it does happen to all zircons, but over a period of millions of years, so it''s not anything to worry about happening in a person''s lifetime. I don''t think that they all degrade at the same rate, either. Sorry, I should have explained that earlier...

I do try to make my own specialized cuts when I can. And I rather like zircon... I''ll have to experiment with it more! I like the idea of becoming a source of unique creations.

 

[glitterata]

Wow, Tony, what a lot of interesting information!

Here''s another tidbit: White zircons, or "jargoons," were popular as imitation diamonds through the early 19th century, especially in the Iberian peninsula.

Examples:

early 19th century jargoon stomacher

spanish jargoon ring

portuguese jargoon ear drops

 

[pwendyp]

Thank you Proteus for the compliments on my Zircon!

It really is stunning in real life - it does have broad facets, and indeed, when the sun hits it, it is on fire!

I can''t wait to see it set, but I have few projects right now, and waiting to be bale to afford to get them all done in one go!

Then, for a while, I am done!

I am looking for a red zircon though! well, something red anyway!

A garnet may be on the horizon - and I think it may turn out to be stunning.

 

[Mchllmarsh]

I dont have any white zircon, but i have a set of pink round ones! They have to by far be my favorite colored stones in my collection!

Heres the link to mine!

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-pink-zircons-i-need-help-setting.79574/