It looks like a diamond

[joey]

Has anyone seen CZ''s set in white 14 kt screw on (not pierced screw back) earrings? I have acquired a pair that are cut very deep and do not look like CZ''s but test as not diamonds. Since CZ''s have only been machined since the 70''s and this style earring is older, could these be natural CZ''s or is it possible they are real diamonds and the test results were inaccurate?

 

[mike04456]

There are no "natural" CZs, exactly. Cubic zirconium is a man-made material. However, there are some very close natural minerals, most notably zircon, which has been used a diamond simulant for a very long time. They could also be white sapphires.




It is unlikely a diamond tester would give a "not diamond" result with a real diamond.




Take a close look and see if they look obviously worn, scratched, and/or chipped. If so, they almost certainly not diamonds, but could be zircons, which are fairly soft. Sapphires are much harder but can also show wear.




There are some other diamond simulants that are no longer used, such as strontium titanite, which was popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is also fairly soft.




You would need to track down a competent gemologist to positively identify them, but it's a process that should only take a few minutes if they know what they're doing.

 

[mike04456]

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On 9/21/2003 3:45:37 PM Furthermore wrote:





Lawgem`s of course right - how DOES the boy do it ? He`s only apparently five years old ! ))

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He's only three, actually. But hey, you can pack a lot of learning into three years.