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Jamming Gems Zircon Information
Zircon
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General Information:
Zircon is the oldest known mineral on earth, with the first zircons found about
4.46 million years old, probably coming from Western Australia. The name zircon
is thought to come from the Persian word zargun which means
gold-colored, but zircon comes in a wide range of colors. Over the
years, zircon has lost much of its popularity from being compared to cubic
zirconia a synthetic gem, when really, these two gems are very distinct. Blue
Zircon is the birthstone for the month of December.
Zircon, like many minerals are colorless in thier pure form and get the variety
of brilliant hues from impurities. Zircon in its colorless form was the
original diamond substitute used. Like diamonds, they have brilliant luster,
but unlike diamonds they tend to wear along facet edges over time. Blue zircons
demand the highest prices, with red following close behind. Three different
terms are often used to describe the color of zircons; hyacinth (yellow,
yellow-red to red-brown zircon), jargon (straw-yellow to almost colorless), and
starlight (greenish blue zircon, created by heating). |
Origin:
Zircon is found in Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Korea, Madagascar, Mozambique,
Myanmar (Burma), Nigeria, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Tanzania, Thailand and
Vietnam. |
Common Treatments and Lab Created
Forms:
Brown zircons are commonly heat treated to create colorless and blue zircons.
This treatment is not always permanent and ultraviolet rays (sunlight) can
somtimes change the stones appearance.
There is no lab created zirconia, but it is common that cubic zirconia is
thought of as a simulant of the natural zircon, which is not the case. Cubic
zirconia is a man made material that has completely different properties than
natural zircon. |
Physical Properties:
Moh's Scale Hardness: 7.5
Specific Gravity: 4.6-4.7
Refractive Index: 1.92 - 2.01
Crystal System: (Tetragonal), short, stocky, four-sided prisms with pyramidal
ends
Colors: Colorless, yellow, brown, orange, red violet, blue, green
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