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| Color |
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Pale blue to bright sky
blue to slightly greenish blue |
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| Gem Family |
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Zircon is a gem family
available in a wide variety of colors including
green, dark red, yellow, brown, orange and colorless. |
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| Source |
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Zircon is found Cambodia,
Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Australia, and other
countries but the best blue zircon is found in Cambodia,
which produces kingfisher blues not seen anywhere
else. |
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| Clarity |
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Transparent with good
clarity. Zircons have so much brilliance and fire
that inclusions can be hard to see. |
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| Size Range |
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0.5 carat to 5 carats |
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| Shapes Available |
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Ovals, round, trillions,
and cushions |
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| Enhancement |
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Blue zircon is heated
to turn a few brown colors into blues. |
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| Lore & History |
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Hindu poets tell of the
Kalpa Tree, the ultimate gift to the gods, which
was a glowing tree covered with gemstone fruit with
leaves of zircon. Zircon has long had a supporting
role to more well-known gemstones, often stepping
in as an understudy when they were unavailable.
In the middle ages, zircon was said to aid sleep,
bring prosperity, and promote honor and wisdom in
its owner. The name probably comes from the Persian
word zargun which means "gold-colored." |
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| Toughness &
Hardness |
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The hardness of Zircon
is 6 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale. |
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| Care & Cleaning |
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Zircon is hard but can
be brittle. Try not to expose your zircon to impact
or abrasion. Store zircon jewelry with care to avoid
scratches. Clean with mild dish soap: use a toothbrush
to scrub behind the stone where dust can collect. |
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| Price Range |
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$25 to $180 per carat.
Rare large sizes will be hundreds of dollars per
carat. |
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| Special Characteristics |
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Natural zircon today
suffers for the similarity of its name to cubic
zirconia, the laboratory-grown diamond imitation.
Some don't realize that there is a beautiful natural
gemstone called zircon. Zircon occurs in a wide
range of colors but for many years, the most popular
was the colorless variety that looks more like diamond
than any other natural stone due to its brilliance
and dispersion. |
