White or Colorless Sapphire vs. Diamond
It’s easy to find
Colorless or White Sapphires. More often you will find colored sapphires of every shade in the rainbow. White or colorless sapphires may have hints of gray, yellow, brown and traces of blue. The closer a sapphire comes to colorless, the more value it has. In the 1990’s, white or colorless sapphires became the substitute for diamonds. They actually doubled in price in an 18 month period at one time during the 90’s. Later, the demand for this diamond substitute declined and so did the value. Today a colorless sapphire can sell for $10 per carat. Although it can be an attractive stone, it doesn’t compare to the brilliance of the old European cut or Round Brilliant of today.
Cubic Zirconia (CZ) vs. Diamond
A cubic zirconia is usually clear and flawless, but has little value. It gets cloudy easily as dirt shows with wear. CZ’s have a hardnest of 8 out of 10 on the Mohs scale and is a brittle stone. There is a little trick you can do to tell whether a stone is a CZ or a diamond. Draw a line on a piece of paper. Place the stone on top of the line. If you can see the line through the stone, it is a CZ.
Moissanite vs. Diamond
Mossanite was found in a meteorite in Arizona by Henri Moissan and was later lab created by Charles & Colvard. It has a hardness of 9.5 on the Mohs scale. Diamonds have a hardness of 10 and is cut like a Round Brilliant. Moissanite has a slightly greenish yellow tint and color will start at I. It has a high dispersion of light and costs half the price of diamonds. This stone is relatively clean but can have some man-made inclusions.
European Cut Diamonds and Round Brilliant Cut Diamond
The
European cut diamond enagagement was cut before the 1940’s. It is cut differently than a Round Brilliant. It has a smaller table, higher crown angles, a deeper pavilion and an open culet giving this diamond beautiful color. Generally, European Cut diamonds are color graded from D –Z. Clarity ranges from Flawless to Imperfect. This diamond is very popular now as the Round Brilliant cannot replace the unique and romantic antique diamonds in vintage settings. The Round Brilliant cut diamonds have a larger table than the European cut diamonds and are cone shaped with a closed cutlet. Color dispersion is very good and ranges from D-Z. Clarity ranges from flawless to imperfect. High quality diamonds, either the European Cut or the Round Brilliant Cut are more costly than colorless sapphires, cubic zirconia or moissanite and are worth every penny.
