A Quick Guide To Buying Zircon – December Birthstone
Zircon, Turquoise, and Tanzanite are the three modern December birthstones, but Zircon is the most popular birthstone of December.
Birthstones are a great and safe choice for gifts, especially for those who are clueless about what the recipient needs or would love to receive as a birthday gift.
They are the precious and semi-precious stones that are associated with the birth dates of the people, and Zircon is the December birthstone. In addition, they are considered to be the lucky charm for the wearer, but only when wearing the right birthstone.
If you are looking for a unique and precious birthday gift for a loved one born in December then Zircon the December birthstone would be the best choice. And the best part of picking the December birthstone is that you get it in beautiful hues to choose from.
Unlike the other months, December babies are pretty much lucky to wear the three birthstones that exhibit the various tones and hues of blue. From blue to bluish purple of Tanzanite, a combination of beautiful green and blue color of turquoise, and the variant of rainbow shade in Zircon, there’s a color for everyone.
And if your favorite is blue then December birthstones have their unique take on this particular hue. But before you step out for purchasing a birthstone for any of your dear ones as a birthday present or anniversary gift, it’s important to have keen knowledge and information about the December birthstone Zircon.
No matter what’s your style, choice and budget, even if you don’t have complete information about December birthstone don’t worry, we will help you to shop the best December birthstone jewelry for you or a loved one.
Let’s know more about Zircon, December birthstone, which is a great choice for birthday gifts, wedding gifts, or anniversary gifts for your loved ones. Here’s the complete information about Zircon.
What is Zircon?
Don’t get confused with its name Zircon, it’s not the cubic zirconia. Zircons are magnificent, but underrated gemstones that have been worn and treasured for ages. This natural stone is available in many colors, and also the modern birthstone of December. This looks amazingly beautiful and enhances a jewelry’s grace if set carefully.
The origin of the word Zircon has some interesting and colorful debate. Most of the researchers say that this name has originated from the Arabic word ‘Zarkun’, which means ‘cinnabar’ or ‘vermilion’. While others believe that this word has come from the Persian word ‘Zargun’ where zar means ‘gold’ and gun means ‘color’ so Zargun means ‘Gold Colored’.
This modern December birthstone exhibits hues of red, brown, orange, yellow, blue, and green. The colorless zircon features its brilliance and reflects multicolor, called fire, Zircon is a similar stone to diamonds.
For centuries, colorless zircon was considered as diamonds only and also confused with cubic zirconia, which is a man-made stone. Its interesting qualities have made it famous among the younger generation.
Blue zircons range in hues from light blue to pastel blue. And it is also the most popular hue of zircon today. Well, zircon also comes in different shades of red, orange, green, and yellow. Due to the impurities of zircon, it’s found in different colors. The color of this stone changes after heat treatment and is quite a durable gemstone with 7.5 ratings in Moh’s hardness scale.
Zircon is found in different places in the world like Cambodia, Australia, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Myanmar, Canada, and Madagascar. By producing 37% of the total supply of zircon in the world, Australia is on the top of the list in Zircon mining in the world.
Meaning of the December Birthstone Zircon
Dating back to 4.4 million years ago, Zircon is the oldest natural mineral on the earth. The colors of this beautiful gemstone intensified with heat treatment.
In the middle age, people used to believe that Zircon stimulates sound sleep, ward off evil, and delivers prosperity and wisdom. Today, zircon is considered for boosting confidence and compassion.
- It is the gemstone that has meaning and prosperity of balancing energy.
- Zircon has been loved as a gemstone since ancient age that affects mental growth.
- It is believed that zircon has the properties of enhancing the wearer’s potential.
- This beautiful gemstone is also helpful in coming out of a crisis.
Zircon is not as famous as ruby, emerald, and sapphire, but now it’s becoming famous due to its great shine and with high-transparency, this gemstone is as beautiful as diamonds. Because of its rarity, beautiful hues, and low prices, Zircon is quite popular among famous jewelry designers.
Not only because of these reasons, but zircon is also an energy-stimulating stone that helps to wake up all the seven energy points in the body. Hence, a perfect gift for all the December born.
Let’s know the meaning and impact of blue zircon the December birthstone in the wearer’s life: -
Love and Relationship
- Get a desirable partner or an ideal partner
- Foster love
- Fills the owner with love
- Heals loneliness and anxiety
- Work for good harmony and communication
- Improves relationship with partner and family member
Money and Business
- Improve your concentration
- Helps in focusing your goals
- Increase possibilities of success
- Resolve stagnation
- Perform high level of work
- Improve confidence
Other Energy
- Can be very lucky for the wearer or owner
- This stone has the energy of Venus, a symbol of beauty and love
- Cause self-revolution
- Has the power and spiritual energies
- Believed to make the owner’s dream come true
So, all these say that the Zircon gemstone is one of the best stones that can be opted as a gift for your near and dear ones. And in case you are looking for a unique engagement ring not using the traditional stone ‘diamonds’, then the Zircon engagement ring would be a perfect choice for making your beloved feel special.
Before you buy a Zircon ring or any other jewelry with Zircon gemstone, you must know how to select the right zircon considering its color, cut, and clarity.
Quick guide for buying zircon gemstone
Color
Zircons come in different colors, but the blue color is the most popular. Colorless zircon is its purest form that looks similar to diamonds but is less valuable. Though zircons are rare, they are not as precious as diamonds.
Blue zircons are the most popular ones and the fine blue zircon has more sparkle than any other gemstones in blue color. The color of the blue zircon ranges from light to medium bluish tone and sometimes a greenish hue.
Zircons are heated for the blue color, but only the Cambodian and Burmese zircon turns blue when heated. Well, zircon exhibits beautiful hues of red, yellow, green, orange, blue, and brown. So, you have plenty of options to choose from. But, remember that blue zircon is the modern December birthstone.
Cut
Just like the diamonds, Zircon comes in different shapes that include emerald steps, pears, marquises oval, and rounds. Due to the high dispersion and light performance of zircons, cutting them into a brilliant shape heightens their luster and makes them look similar to diamonds. This semi-precious stone is very much similar to diamonds.
Clarity
Zircons have a very fine level of clarity and look clean to the eyes. It’s difficult to see any flaws in this gemstone. But as this is a natural stone, so having some natural impurities and flaws are common, often visible through magnification. Most of the zircons are transparent and translucent. Sometimes it’s heated to enhance its luster.
Carat
Zircons are natural minerals and due to their heavyweights, they come in small sizes in jewelry. The larger stone can command extremely high prices. Hence, most jewelry in which zircons gemstones are used is of low carats. Zircons are one of the densest gemstones.
This means the zircons will be smaller in size than the same weight of other gemstones as they are heavy. If you will buy a zircon and a same-sized diamond, you will see that the zircon is way heavier than the same size of a diamond. Well, the carat is one of the main factors that decide the price of a zircon.
Zircons are the only natural gemstones similar in appearance to the precious stone – Diamonds. These are the diamond simulants, but people often confuse Zircon stones with Cubic Zirconia.
Well, that’s quite normal because these two stones have a similar look of diamond-like shine and luster and also have similar names. But these two stones are not the same. Though their names sound the same, they are vastly different gemstones chemically, optically, and structurally. You must know the basic difference between these two if you want to buy Zircon jewelry.
Difference between Zircon and Cubic Zirconia
Origin
Zircons are the natural mineral and the oldest mineral on the earth. It has been on earth since ancient time around 4.4 million years. Also, its synthesized version exists. Zircons are not so common as gemstones.
On the other hand, cubic zirconia is new in the world of gemstones. And the natural cubic zirconia was founded in 1930. Natural cubic zirconia is very rare and also it has no synthesized version so scientists have begun synthesizing it.
Durability
In terms of durability, Cubic Zirconia is a durable gemstone with a rating of 8-8.5 on Moh’s scale and is also good for daily wearing. While as Zircon that may look very much like diamonds, but is a soft stone and also rate in between 6-7.5 in Moh’s scale. Zircon is a brittle stone that means this is prone to scratching and cracking.
Color
Zircon is a natural stone and exhibits hues of red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. Transparent zircon is its purest form but considered the least valuable type of zircons. Green zircons are highly expensive as it’s very rare.
Cubic zirconia is lab-created, so the manufacturers can control the final product. But, mostly cubic zircons are created colorless to make them look like diamonds. But, the most common colors popular in CZ are pink, black, blue, orange, red, and green.
Well, both the gemstones have their unique properties. They are beautiful and have advantages and disadvantages. But, as you want to buy a gift for your loved one born in December month then you must have complete information about Zircon so that you will not get confused with cubic zirconia.
In Conclusion
Due to the large size, beautiful colors, low price, and durability, gemstones have become more and more famous in engagement rings and wedding rings in place of diamonds. So, in case you want your engagement ring to be unique and elegant then you can buy a gemstone engagement ring.
But, it’s important to choose the right gemstone according to the birth date of the recipient or receiver. If you want to gift jewelry or buy an engagement ring for your wife-to-be, born in December then opt for a blue zircon ring, turquoise ring, or a tanzanite ring. All these three semi-precious stones are appealing in their own way.