Cubic Zirconia Engagement Rings – Cost Effective

Ah, cubic zirconia engagement rings. They’ve gotten a bad rap from many a person over the years. Stereotyped as tacky, cheap and downright ugly, it’s time to put the record straight. Cubic Zirconia or CZ as it’s known in the market is truly a remarkable feat of gemological engineering. It looks and feels like a real diamond, but unless you look really hard you’d never know. Also, and here’s the clincher, it’s cheap.

Why? Because it’s easily made in the lab for a fraction of the cost. Beautiful and cheap sound like an oxymoron right? Not so with the dazzling CZ engagement ring.

Let’s look at how cubic zirconia came to exist. Cubic zirconia, is a mineral that naturally occurs like traditional diamonds and was first discovered in 1937. Cubic zirconia is rare and hard to acquire but a chemical process discovered in the 1960’s allowed scientists to reproduce cubic zirconia and produce a crystalline form of zirconium dioxide. In appearance, they look just like diamonds to the naked eye because even though they have a bit less sparkle they cast more rays of color. Created in a lab, the CZ are typically flawless and about 70% heavier than diamonds but more brittle and soft. Diamonds naturally have flaws and impurities. Both come in a variety of colors. In the CZ, this is achieved by adding oxides such as nickel, iron, titanium, etc. during the CZ synthesis process. CZ has a hardness rating of eight on the Moh’s scale compared to man-made diamonds with a hardness rating of 10 on the Moh’s Scale. CZ can replicate the look of the finest-cut natural diamonds.

Aside from cost savings, why should you choose cubic zirconia engagement rings over real diamonds? Sure diamonds are classic and last forever, but many of us just don’t have the budget to buy something spectacular. Three month’s salary is the hard and fast rule, but it’s hard to part with that amount of money. Here are a few reasons you can really feel good about choosing  cubic zirconia engagement rings as your symbol of lasting love and commitment.

As concern about our impact on the planet and the welfare of human lives increases so does the concern over natural resources. Diamonds have a history of greediness. Constant harvesting in our fragile environment can negatively impact people’s lives and with CZ you know you can feel confident that the stone has not had any negative impact on others or the environment.

The Beauty Aspect: Finding a flawless diamond is rare and extremely cost prohibitive and countless stones have unfavorable colors and inclusions. In comparison a CZ engagement ring gives you a flawless and sparkling stone.

Variety: Cubic zirconia stones come in a wide variety of colors and shapes which are becoming more and more popular as people choose the stone colors to also symbolize cultural ties.

In conclusion, unless you are set and determined to spend thousands on a diamond ring the cubic zirconia engagement ring is a stunning and affordable choice. You don’t have to sacrifice quality or most of your savings to get what you want in an engagement ring.  Beautiful and cost effective, your best option may be cubic zirconia engagement rings.