What you need to know before you purchase jewelry online? Part II: stones!

In the last passage about jewelry materials part I, we talked about the metal material that is mostly used in jewelry design.

Here we will show you 4 common jewel stones and gems in the jewelry industry business from this passage, then you can compare with different materials and pick your own jewelry online.

Zircon

Natural zircon is one of the oldest minerals on earth. It is divided into three types: high type, medium type, and low type. High density, high toughness, medium toughness and stable color, and high refractive index, are all these elements that make the zircon become a relatively rare gemstone and preferred material in the jewelry industry.

Colorless zircon is famous for its brilliance and flashes of multicolored light just like a diamond. But Zircon also comes in a variety of colors. Its variety of yellow, green, red, reddish brown, and blue colors makes it a favorite among collectors as well as informed consumers. The pure color the zircon has, the higher the price it is.

Cubic Zirconia

Cubic Zirconia, with the abbreviation of CZ, is a kind of synthetic gemstone. CZ has another famous name called “Soviet diamond” as it is synthetically made in the laboratory by a Soviet scientist in 1974. Though CZ is an artificial gemstone, it is a still hard, colorless, and optically flawless crystal. Due to laboratory synthesis, it can produce amazing transparency and a complete color state just like diamonds. Besides, by just adding some chemical elements during the process of synthesis of the CZ, a variety of luxuriant gemstones can be produced in a minute.

Because of its affordable price, stable production, excellent quality, and friendly to the earth, cubic zirconium is mostly used in jewelry design. 

Crystal

Crystal can be divided into the natural crystal and artificial crystal two types.

The natural crystal is hyaline and clear, and the processing method will follow its own texture and character.

Artificial crystal is more familiar and accepted by the public, which is mostly made of glass products. For the reason that the largest producer of artificial crystal is near the Rhine River in the Czech Republic and Austria, artificial crystal is also called Rhinestone. The main component of artificial crystal is glass and the common processing form is to cut it into diamond facets, making it dazzles like a diamond. 

Some people may ask what is the difference between rhinestone and cubic zirconium and which one is more expensive? Well, cubic zirconium is more expensive than rhinestone as the production process is so different. The process of producing rhinestone is only to cut the artificial glass. While for the cz, the scientist tried varieties of tests and used different ways to produce and improved its quantity. Eventually, a soviet scientist developed the technique which is called the skull crucible ( an invention to melt and stable the stones). Because of its economical and affordable material, artificial crystal is more popular in the jewelry market now. 

Pearl 

Pearl, an ancient organic gemstone, which came from mollusks, is calcium carbonate-containing mineral beads produced by shellfish endocrine action. It comes in different types, colors, and shapes.The name Pearl is derived from the Latin language Pernulo. Its other name, Margarite, is derived from the ancient Persian Sanskrit, meaning "son of the sea".

According to geological and archaeological studies, pearls already existed on the earth 200 million years ago. Back in ancient times, when primitive humans were seeking food on the seaside, they accidentally discovered the breathtaking white pearls and were attracted by their crystal splendor immediately. People found the pearl has multiple functions, like eating as medicine or becoming a decoration for jewelry. Since then, pearl jewelry have become popular and welcomed by people worldwide and have been passed down to this day.

Pearl is also considered to be the birthstone of June, symbolizing health, nobility, courage and purity.

In this passage, we have discussed 4 of the most commonly used materials in the jewelry industry. All the 4 jewel stones that we have talked about are both luxuriant and colorful. To conclude, the zircon and natural crystal are expensive as they are hard to find the pure one in mother nature and the quantity is getting less and less due to overexploitation. At the same time, scientists developed the most efficient ways to mass-produce artificial crystals AKA rhinestone and cubic zirconia which makes them easier to obtain and the price is relatively lower than natural ones. And pearls are also popular among people due to their halo colors and meaning. People are easy to get confused by the massive information listed on the product page. However, having a rough idea about the jewel stones and gems is a great way for those who know-nothings about stones but still want to buy jewelry online.

Hope you guys can pick the jewelry that you like on U7 jewelry store!