Cubic zirconia is a synthetic gemstone that very closely resembles diamonds. Because of its startling diamond-like appearance and inexpensive price tag, cubic zirconia is a highly popular gemstone used most frequently in jewelry such as rings, earrings, bracelets and pendants.

Cubic zirconia is crystalline, flawless, and clear enough to rate a “D” on the diamond scale for clarity.

Cubic Zirconia is well known as a substitute for diamond, due to its high hardness and great fire.  But in recent years, it has established itself as a gorgeous gem in its own right.

CZ is a beautiful synthetic gemstone that is durable and inexpensive and now even comes in any color of the rainbow, making it even more desirable. Cubic zirconia sparkles brighter than crystal and is harder than most gems, making it very durable. It also weighs about 65% more than diamond.

To the untrained eye, cubic zirconia looks identical to a good quality diamond.  The overall effect is so similar that it can even fool a trained gemologist on occasion.

You can wear it out on the town without worrying about its dollar value, but still looking like a million bucks.

Garnet

January’s gemstone. Garnet has colors that go from dark red to lavender to rose. This is often mistaken for a ruby but when compared, garnet has its deeper effect than that of the latter. It is said that when worn, it has calming, self-rejuvenating effects.

Amethyst

February’s gemstone. This gemstone is known for its elegant violet color that comes in different shades. Amethyst belongs to the quartz family, which is considered as the most valuable gemstone within the group. With a hardness scale of 7, it has been popular for its durability for everyday usage.

Aquamarine

March’s gemstone. Derived from its name, aquamarine came from the Latin words water and sea. It is the member of the beryl group that when faceted, will show clarity and brightness. Color ranges from pale and light blue, blue green, and sometimes, colorless. Aquamarine will become almost invisible if put under water.

Diamond

April’s gemstone. Imperishable. Durable. Two words that can describe this special kind of stone that came from the Latin word adamas that means unconquerable. With its hardness scale that reaches over 10, diamond can’t be easily broken unless some extreme pressure is applied on it that makes it as the hardest of all gemstones. Diamonds have various sizes and colors like brown, yellow, black, green, pink. Although, the most popular would be the transparent or colorless one.

Emerald

May’s gemstone. With brilliance of shades of green, this heavily included gemstone can be identified easily with this specific characteristic. It can sparkle amongst spectrum of flame. Emeralds are also fragile stones because of its porous characteristic but have a hardness scale of 7-8.

Pearl

June’s gemstone. The finish of this top quality stone consisting of calcium carbonate primarily came from mollusks and is created under the depths of deep sea water. Varies widely in size, color, luster and the size of their pores, they are the main categories for grading a pearl. This gemstone comes in shades of white, black, silver, pink, and golden blue. These stones though are highly sensitive to perspiration, perfume, and other liquid that contains high levels of acid.

Ruby

July’s gemstone. Comes in beautiful shades of pink and fuchsia but is more popular due to its bloody red color. If diamond is the hardest, well, ruby is the most valuable gemstone of them all. With a hardness scale of 9, it is in fact the perfect choice for every class of jewelry.

Peridot

August’s gemstone. Notwithstanding the fact that their scratch resistance tolerance is low, Peridot had become popular for those who are into the fashion world. With colors as bright as yellow green, brownish, kiwi grren, olive green, this gemstone are considered wearable by those who are advocates with the color green.

Sapphire

September’s gemstone. Sapphire is widely known for its elegant blue hue. Although it also comes in colorless, black, purple, yellow, pink. Because of its intricate characteristic, this stone also considered as the heaven’s gem. The darker the color, the better.

Opal

October birthstone jewelry is usually made of opals though tourmaline is also commonly available. Both opal and tourmaline are the modern birthstones for October while the traditional birthstone is only tourmaline. Opal can be either whist or black with multicolor sparkles; Tourmaline is commonly pink or green though it can be other colors as well. Opal symbolizes beauty and happiness; Tourmaline is said to protect the wearer.

Citrine

November’s gemstone. This varies from golden brown to the lightest of yellow. The glow of this gemstone is delightful enough to enlighten the mood of every occasion.

Topaz

December’s gemstone. Color ranges in hues of dark blue to intense aqua. The popularity of this gemstone is due to its extravagant color, hardness and affordability.