What is the differences between Rhinestone, Zircon and Diamond?
Many people think of low-priced shiny "fake diamonds" as rhinestones. Some people even think that rhinestones are splints or that both are zircon, which are worthless things.
But in fact, rhinestones, splints, and zircon are three completely different things, and even the price will be quite different. It's easy to waste money if you can't tell them apart.
Rhinestones
The full name of rhinestones is actually called Crystal Diamonds, but it is neither crystal nor diamonds, but refers to all diamond-like materials. Rhinestones come in several common materials, including glass, artificial crystal, topaz, zircon, synthetic cubic zirconia etc.
Splints
Splints are by no means rhinestones, but real diamonds. It's not a broken diamond either, it's just small particles. Generally, splints refer to diamonds under 10 points (0.1 carats), which are often used as decorations in high-end jewelry, to set off the center stone or to create a unique shape.
Zircons
Zircon may be the most wronged gem in the world. At some point, people started to call all imitation diamonds zircon, considering that zircon is synonymous with diamond imitations and rhinestones.
But what most people don't know is that zircon is actually a very good natural gemstone, better than many popular gemstones in terms of gemstone properties. It is such a gem that should be sought after, but it has become a ‘sourpuss’.
In fact, zircon is product of nature, with a hardness around 6-7.5, which is comparable to many popular gemstones. Common colors are yellow, brown, red, blue, etc., and the luster is from diamond luster to glass luster. The dispersion value is 0.038, which puts many gems under it, so strong dispersion is a highlight of zircon. Well-cut zircon looks full of fire, not even inferior to the brilliance of diamonds.
The zircon sold on the market is actually Cubic Zircon( it’s not the natural zircon, but still a cost-effective option ). The price of zircon on the market is generally based on shape (including cut) and specifications. Generally, the price is more expensive under the same specifications if the shape is much more complex.
At the same time, the price of zircon in the market is also divided according to its Brightness, Cutting, Integrity. From low to high, A, AA, AAA are mainly used to set different prices.