Many people who aren't aware of natural zircon, often confuse it with the diamond simulant cubic zirconia (CZ). Although zircon is not very well known, it is indeed one of the most important gemstone groups today. In fact, before the introduction of diamond simulants like cubic zirconia and moissanite, white zircon was actually one of the most popular diamond substitutes. Due to zircon's high dispersion and refractive index, it is still considered to be one of the best and most affordable alternatives to white diamond. It was even often marketed under the misleading trade name of 'Matura diamond', but this is now frowned upon.
Zircon in its purest form is completely colorless, but most white zircon is routinely heated to enhance its color and clarity, though unheated specimens can be found. Zircon's hardness ranges from 6.5-7.5 on the Mohs scale, which makes it durable enough for most types of jewelry. Zircon is also noted for its remarkably dense composition, and it exhibits such a pronounced level of birefringence, that it may appear fuzzy and quite often display facet-doubling when closely inspected. Zircon occurs in a wide range of colors, of which green is the rarest color, while yellowish golden to brownish golden zircon is the most common color, and blue zircon is the most highly sought after when it comes to jewelry-making.
Most zircon deposits are alluvial. Sri Lanka (Ceylon) is the best known source for green metamict or 'low' zircon. Many of the finest quality zircon gems are found in Burma (Myanmar) and Cambodia, though Australia boasts the oldest deposits, dating back more than 4.4 billion years. Other notable sources for zircon include Brazil, Korea, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam.
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