f you have been hunting for a new ring but the price of diamonds sicken you, cubic zirconia rings are the sure fire way to go. Usually called CZ, cubic zirconia rings are a budget friendly fashion accessory. CZ rings can be used for every day events or special occasions.

Cubic Zirconia is a man-made synthetic gemstone first discovered in the 1892. In the 1930s German mineralogists grew the first Cubic zirconia in a lab. They felt the discovery to be of so little importance that they never even gave the gemstone a name. That is why to this day we still refer to it as its scientific name; cubic zirconia. It will not until mid 197os that commercial production began worldwide and by the 1980s total word wide production of the gem reached 50 million carats.

The cubic form of zirconium oxide gives us one of mans most cherished gemstones, Cubic Zirconia. By design a very hard material, boasting a rating of 8 on the mohs scale cubic zirconia makes a great candidate for use in the production of jewelry. It has many diamond like qualities including a .060 dispersion power and a 2.176 refractive index. These factors along with its flawlessness create a gem almost identical to diamond.

Like many other forms of jewelry, Cubic Zirconia Rings are sold many ways. By far the latest and greatest trend with CZ rings is replica rings worn by celebrities. For thousands and thousands less then what the famous crowd paid you can buy rings designed to be identical made out of Cubic Zirconia. Linsay Lohan, Heidi Montag, J-Lo, Mariah, and Kendra are just a few of the celebs with replica rings on the market.

A true bargain is a Cubic Zirconia Ring. Compared to their over priced siblings, a beautiful CZ ring can be purchased for as low as a few dollars. This includes a amazing selection from heart shaped to princess cuts. Even higher quality rings can be found online ranging from under $100 to thousands of dollars. Adding precious elements to the mix such as gold, platinum or silver you can easily create a beautiful ring that makes you think long and hard about a diamond purchase.

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