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Marquise Facet Cubic Zirconium. Colour - Top Orange Red. Clarity - Clean. Size - 12,00mm x 6,00mm. Weight - 2,83cts. Lustre - Stunning. To My World Of Awesome Gems Cubic Zirconium was discovered in its natural state in 1937 by two German mineralogists, von Stackelberg and Chudoba. It was in a highly metamict zircon given to them by one B.W. Anderson. The zircon contained tiny crystals that were determined to be the cubic form of zirconium oxide by x-ray diffraction. The two mineralogists thought so little of their discovery that they did not even give it a name; which is why it is still known by its scientific name, Cubic Zirconium. It wasn't until the 1970's, however, that Soviet scientists learned how to grow the crystals in the laboratory. In 1977, it was first marketed under the trade name "Djevalite". But CZ really took off in the 1980's when Swarovski & Co., a world-renowned Austrian producer of leaded crystal, began producing Cubic Zirconia for mass consumption. A Cubic Zirconium is made through a complicated process and is made up of zirconium oxide and yttrium oxide. Together the two chemicals create a beautiful, radiant crystal. It takes almost 5,000 Degrees F to melt the two chemicals together and the most important process is the cooling. The chemicals must be carefully cooled in order to create flawless crystals. The Cubic Zirconium is a beautiful substitute for those who cannot afford a natural diamond or just simply prefer not to spend that much. It has a little less sparkle and brilliance, but more fire and colour. |