News flash! December has THREE birthstones to celebrate with! In my last blog, www.AngelaCisneros.com/post/december-birthstone-part-1 , I talked about Tanzanite being one of the most recent additions, and in this blog, I want to talk about the most misunderstood December birthstone, Blue Zircon. Blue Zircon has been misunderstood for various reasons over the years. It gets confused with the man-made diamond simulant cubic zirconia, and when it is blue, Zircon is also confused with Blue Topaz.
Zircon is one of the oldest minerals on earth at about 4.4 billion years old! When a gemologist talks about fire, we are referring to a gemstone’s brilliance and flashes of multicolored light. Diamond has one of the higher rates of fire, and Zircon ranks just below diamond! Zircon is a doubly refractive which means you can see twice as many facet lines and twice as much fire making Zircon one of the most brilliant gemstones. When you look at a picture of Zircon, it may look a bit blurry, but you are actually seeing the double refraction!
Zircon comes in a variety of colors – yellow, green, red, reddish brown, blues. The ice blue color of Zircon is known as Blue Zircon and is the second birthstone for December. Blue Zircon was a favorite gemstone in the Victorian era, and you will often see it in English estate jewelry. Interestingly, legend has it that Zircon was used in the hilt of Excalibur!
As you can see, even gemstones can be misunderstood! As a Graduate Gemologist, I get really excited when I work with Zircon because of all its fascinating properties. I love the crisp, blue color of Blue Zircon and have only seen red and green Zircons a couple of times. The next time you hear Zircon, take a closer look at the gemstone to see how brilliant it is. And, remember, Zircon is a natural gemstone!
I would love to help you with jewelry this holiday season! Angela Cisneros Jewelry Concierge brings back the joy and confidence of jewelry shopping, so that you can celebrate with ease! My by-appointment approach means:
One-on-one appointments (personal attention and no crowds!)
Discretion and privacy (surprises remain surprises!)
Expert help from a Graduate Gemologist with 25 years of experience (yep, that’s me!)
Book your FREE appointment with me today! www.angelacisneros.com/book-appointment
Ring and picture credit: www.omiprive.com
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