There are many doubts about the differences between a diamond and a brilliant because you have surely heard of both, but you do not understand or know how to differentiate them, which one is better or even what they are.
Difference between diamond and brilliant: do you know how to tell them apart?
Today we bring you a small class to let you know all the secrets of these terms.
What is diamond
A diamond is a natural mineral composed of crystallized carbon and one of the most valued gemstones in the jewelry world.
This precious stone comes from the depths of the earth, they are difficult to find and almost impossible to break! In addition, diamonds are characterized by their hexagonal crystalline structure and their great brilliance.
The purest diamond, without any variation or imperfection, is colorless and totally transparent, and they are the most expensive. However, there are diamonds with pink, red and yellowish shades.
What is shiny
And here we will tell you something that will surprise you.... the shiny refers to a one-size-fits-all type!
When we find a rough diamond we must cut it and for this purpose a type of cut is applied, the most used is the round cut which is known as "brilliant cut". Therefore, when we refer to brilliant it means a type of cut and never the material used.
What is zirconia
Zirconite is characterized by its resemblance to diamond, but its main difference is based on its origin. As we have already mentioned, diamond is a precious stone with natural origin, while zirconite has its origin in zirconium oxide.
Zirconia today is synthetic and manufactured in laboratories for the jewelry industry.
The main advantage of zirconia is that its price is much lower than that of diamonds, and they are stones of great quality and a great resemblance to diamonds.
Difference between diamond and brilliant
The truth is that the difference between a diamond and a brilliant is quite simple, and you'll think you've been fooled all your life about what they are!
As we have already said above the diamond is nothing more than the rough stone, on the contrary, the brilliant is not another type of stone, but it is about the size of the stone of the diamond. In short, not all brilliants are diamonds, don't be fooled, it is only about the cut and the material.
To get a diamond, it is necessary for it to be cut in 58 facets or 57 if we do not count the butt. The most common cut for a brilliant is the brilliant cut or also, more commonly known as round cut. However, the correct way to refer to it is: brilliant cut diamond.
Once you are clear that the brilliant is a cut or size and not a material, you need to know that there are many more stones and gems that can be worked in brilliant cut. It is here, where many people are deceived and for that reason, it is important that you remember 2 characteristics to avoid this:
- The type of cut or denomination, for example, the diamond cut will be with 58 or 57 facets as we have clarified above.
- The name of the material, in our case the one we are talking about, diamond.
At this point, remember the brilliant size is recognized because its size is round, this is done in order to achieve the best refraction of light.
This is the most common and most appreciated shape for cutting a diamond, which resembles a cone, as you have seen in the image above. This shape provides an exceptional brilliance that allows the maximum return of light at the top of the diamond reflecting unique sparkles. However, you should know that there are numerous other ways to cut a diamond as you can see in this image:
How to differentiate diamonds from zirconia
- Zirconia or cubic zirconia, being a synthesized material, is hard, but not as hard as diamond; it can be of an infinite variety of colors and, of course, has a much lower cost than diamond.
- Both are perfectly suitable for use in jewelry because of their similar external appearance, but they have nothing to do with each other in their physical composition and properties.
- Hard as a diamond: we are sure you have heard this expression more than once, and at Lavani we are absolutely right. Diamond is one of the hardest materials that exist, so even if we look at it with a magnifying glass, we will not find any damage. However, although zirconia has many other properties, this is not one of them. Conclusion: if the jewel is scratched, it will not be diamond but zirconite.
- The balance will decide: surely, in our case, the balance will be our hands, but they are also useful. We can hold each stone in one hand and see which one weighs more; that one will be the zirconia. However, the one that weighs the least will be the diamond.
- The black dot test: for this exercise, we will have to take a piece of paper and draw a black dot. Now, place the stone on top and see if you can see the black dot. If it is perfectly visible, we have a zirconia, but if we have difficulty seeing the drawing or if it is distorted, we have a diamond in front of us. This is due to the opacity of the diamond, which is much larger than that of the zirconite.
- It shines like a star: if you can, place the gemstone in a glass of water and now see if it still shines or camouflages with the water. If you can barely make it out, it's a zirconia. If you can see it perfectly, it is a diamond.
Discover our zirconia jewelry and let yourself be enchanted by its brilliance! As our collection of zirconia necklaces where you can find our with colored zirconia.
Now, not only do you know what brilliant, zirconia and diamond are, but you also know the difference between the terms and would know how to tell them apart if necessary.
Tell your family, friends and acquaintances about everything you've learned. In LAVANI Jewels we talk about many other jewelry materials, so don't forget to take a look at the other publications of Lavazine if you want to get into the world of jewelry.