Zircon; The December Birthstone

by ml_visionstarts

I thought it might be fun to talk about and introduce the birthstones specific to each month. These precious stones we see as a celebration of the month our loved ones came to be, however, let’s be honest, how much do you ever really know about the stone you’re looking for?

This month’s stone is Blue Zircon. Now, first and foremost this is not to be confused with cubic zirconia, the popular diamond substitute. Zircon can range in colors such as honey golden-yellow, cinnamon, chocolate, sky blue, and green. The name zircon is derived from the Persian language and in past times meant “golden colored” but the most popular and by far most recognized color would be the hues of blue the stone has been known to come in (very slightly greenish blue, greenish blue, and very strongly greenish blue.) Interestingly enough however, the blue color the stone is so popular for is always created by heating a brown zircon in an oxygen free environment and changing its chemical properties.

This gemstone is notorious for being incredibly vibrant because of its chemical structure, and thus is a wonderful color option for jewelry. Zircon has a refractive index that is actually higher than diamond, allowing it to be a beautiful, intense blue. In fact, any color that is deeply saturated is exceptional and outstanding due to the light and color reflection inside of a well cut stone. This is also why low grade zircon is crushed and used to create the diamond simulant Cubic Zirconia.

Coming in at a 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale (diamonds being a 10, sapphires a 9) Zircon is not the hardest stone out there, but it is definitely more durable than some of your softer gems like opal. The hardness of the stone allows for a little more wiggle room as far as design and wear-ability, making it great for pendants and earrings as well as gently worn rings.

The beautiful blue color of zircon fits in well with both wintery weather and springtime colors, and is sure to be a hit in any style of jewelry year round. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for your December love one of our many designs is sure to do the trick.

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