Imperial Zircon

ImperialZircon_round_6.0mm_sh_web_b

Fabulous peach to peach-orange colors reminiscent of Malaya Garnet, but with
all of Zircon’s dispersion!

Our zircon is a naturally occuring gemstone
-it is NOT lab created

Imperial Zircons have colors that are reminiscent of Imperial Topaz or fine Malaya Garnet. Colors range from peach to peach orange with a hint of pink.

These gems are not to be confused with Cubic Zirconia (CZ) which is a man-made substance.

Imperial Zircons are mined in East Africa. They are routinely heated to achieve their final colors but we do sometimes get Natural, unheated gems too (see product labelling for each gem).

The name ‘Zircon’ derives from the Persian word ‘zargun’ meaning golden hued. Zircons (and possibly other gems) in the pinkish-purplish-reddish color range were historically referred to as “Hyacinth” or “Jacinth”.

Zircons have extremely high dispersion of 0.038, which is the optical property that splits light into its component colors. That explains all those flashes of color when we look at these beautiful gems.

Their refractive index (RI) is also very high ranging from 1.81 to 1.98 and they are durable with a hardness of 7-7.5 for ‘high’ zircons.

Natural Zircons are still available at a fraction of the price of most other gemstones, making them the last undervalued gem!

Zircon is December’s birthstone, providing a lot of color choice for December birthdays!

We have many more colors, shapes and sizes available in Imperial Zircon – please contact us if you don’t find what you are looking for in our online inventory.

click here to see a selection of Imperial Zircon for sale

Colors

imperial (peach-orange)

orangey-pink

pink-orange

pink-peach,

orange

Family/Species

Zircon

Properties

Zircon (high):

RI=1.925-1.984 DR

SG=4.70 (+/-0.03)

Zircon (medium): RI=1.875(+/-0.045)-1.905(+/-0.075) DR

SG=4.32 (+/-0.25)

Zircon (low): RI=1.810(+/-0.030)-1.815(+/-0.030) DR

SG=4.00(+/-0.07)

Dispersion= 0.038

Note: Dispersion  is very close to that of Diamond (0.044), making Zircon the original diamond substitute

suitable for use in most jewelry

Treatments

We work with both natural and untreated material; some zircon is routinely
heated to enhance color

See policy on Treatment Disclosure

Important information

Extremely bright sparkly
A naturally occurring gemstone- do not confuse with lab-created Cubic  Zirconia (CZ)

Excellent value for money

Birthstone

 December

Anniversary

 

Cuts

Calibrated up to 8mm
Standard and fancy checkerboard cuts 
and free sizes

Mining locations

Tanzania, Kenya and other localities