Blue zircon

The blue zircon (zirconium silicate) is a heated natural stone, from the silicate group. It is often yellow to brown when extracted. Heat treatment gives it its blue, bright or lighter color. It is a stone of great brilliance, even evoking the brilliance of diamant. However, its hardness is less, ranging from 6.5 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale.

Zircons are extracted in Australia, Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Color varies by region. It may come from other countries, but the blue zircon from Cambodia is very popular, more precisely coming from the province of Ratanakiri.

Please note, zircon is not the same thing as cubic zirconia, or zirconium oxide, the synthetic laboratory stone, used as a substitute for diamond. A white zircon also looks like a diamond.

For your purchase of blue zircon, Maison Bonnot provides you with a laboratory certificate allowing it to be authenticated.

Zircon has been known since Antiquity and is historically called “ fine stone ”, like l’aigue-marine. It was formally identified by a mineralogist in 1783. Blue in color, it is now very common in jewelry. The blue zircon rings are frequently in white or yellow gold, decorated or not with diamonds.

The exploitation and marketing of blue zircon from Cambodia is relatively recent. It has been gaining popularity since the 2010s.

The natural blue zircon is used in lithotherapy, for the virtues of inner peace, return of positive energies or to get rid of sadness. Unlike many stones, the meaning of blue zircon is not clearly established in the traditions. For example, loyalty is associated with saphir bleu.

L'purchase of a blue zircon is generally not driven by classic symbolism, but rather by its sparkle, beauty and affordability.

Due to a high refractive index, a blue zircon is an extremely shiny stone. Additionally, blue zircons on sale for collectors or jewelry creation are of great clarity. That said, only gemological expertise can authenticate a blue zircon, as with any other stone.

In terms of color alone, it is possible to confuse this gem, to the naked eye, with specimens of blue topaz or sometimes spinelle bleu. The zircon blue is not always the same. These stones are, however, less shiny.

Finally, blue zircon is a rather dense stone, an element which is taken into account for its estimation and which makes it a little “ heavier ” stone than many others.

If blue zircon is a pretty stone, which sparkles remarkably, it is also appreciated forits price per caratrelatively affordable. Be careful of the term “ imitation ”. THEblue or white zirconis not a “ false diamond ”. It is a mineral in its own right and it is not sold at the same price. Zircons may resemble diamonds, but they are not mined to imitate them.