Zircon listed as having dispersion quality nearly equalling diamond(Huh?)

[RedSpinel]

Maybe it's just that my ability to detect dispersion is on par with my complete lack of ability to detect the "minute hints of different flavors" supposedly occuring in wine. But I'm just not seeing it(or tasting the "subtle notes of gooseberry, cassis and vanilla, with a hint of oak-iness" Lol). What I am specifically talking about is the prismatic glints and sparkles of color that you see in a diamond or a nice sphene. If either of those gems is of fine quality and cut well, it's very obvious.

How many times have you seen a white zircon online, or on tv, magnified, or live with lights around it, but it looks basically 'dead'? By dead, I mean that it doesn't have any prismatic sparkle. I honestly don't recall seeing lots of "fire" pouring out of even the cleanest zircons. I have owned 2 blue, and 2 golden yellow zircons, between 2-3 cts each, and although they have all been very clean gems, I don't recall seeing much(or any) noticeable dispersion.

Don't get me wrong, I love colored zircons. But, looking at a table of gems ranked by dispersion, zircon Is listed at just below diamond(.038 vs .044). To me, a fine diamond looks like a completely different gem compared with fine white zircons when dispersion is concerned. Not even close..... Am I just missing something?

 

[T L]

There are different qualities of white zircon. Some are crystal clear and highly dispersive, and some are cloudy and look like frozen spit. In melee sizes, some high quality white zircon can be mistaken for diamond. I would never mistake a solitaire sized zircon for diamond though.

The orange fire opal is surrounded by white zircon, I love this setting. The zircon gives off lots of rainbow dispersion. The melee on the blue tourmaline and tsavorite are diamond, for comparison. White zircon is a nice affordable substitute.

 

[RedSpinel]

There are different qualities of white zircon. Some are crystal clear and highly dispersive, and some are cloudy and look like frozen spit. In melee sizes, some high quality white zircon can be mistaken for diamond. I would never mistake a solitaire sized zircon for diamond though.

The orange fire opal is surrounded by white zircon, I love this setting. The zircon gives off lots of rainbow dispersion. The melee on the blue tourmaline and tsavorite are diamond, for comparison. White zircon is a nice affordable substitute.

Thanks for the comparison pics. The tsavorite must be reflecting some green onto the blue tourmaline, because when I first looked at the rings, but before I read your post, I thought the blue gem was likely a blue zircon, which would've explained the occasional glint of green(even when there appears to be no actual green to the stone's base color). In that picture, I would've assumed that all of the accent gems surrounding the main gems were diamonds. I assume that I may have been better able to tell the difference in person, up close, but then again, maybe my whole assertion here in this thread is not always true. I have personally not seen a multi-carat white zircon that offered the color glints of dispersion that I see in fine, well cut diamonds.

 

[T L]

I don't think a multi carat white zircon can match a white diamond for dispersion, and luster for that matter. In small melee sizes, it much more difficult to tell the difference.

The tourmaline does have a blue zircon appearance. I have. 3 carat diamond cut blue zircon that does give off rainbows, but you can tell it's definitely not a diamond.

 

[mochiko42]

Agree with TL, in smaller sizes it may be easier to pass zircon as a diamond substitute. Also a lot of zircon is not well cut, which could also be a factor.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Just found this thread!

Never seen a white zircon but I found my coloured one to be super sparkly! Hence now trying to use a pink one as a substitute for a pink diamond! I'm obviously not going to try and pass it off as a diamond but in my mind I reckon it's the pinkest and sparkliest stone I can afford on a budget!