Many people often look for faux diamonds instead of the real thing for a variety of reasons, one of which is the lower price. Let’s take a look at the best faux diamonds that are worth spending money on.
What Is a Faux Diamond?
A faux diamond is a stone that looks like diamond but is in fact made of a different material.
A ring with a faux diamond made of cubic zirconia
Faux diamonds are also referred to as fake diamonds, imitation diamonds, or simulated diamonds.
You shouldn’t confuse faux diamonds with artificial, or created, diamonds, whose chemical composition is the same as that of real diamonds.
What Defines a Good Faux Diamond?
A good faux diamond resembles the real thing as closely as possible in terms of physical properties and appearance.
The best imitations are nearly as hard as real diamond, and they are also reasonably clear and colorless.
What Are the Best Faux Diamonds?
The best faux diamonds are moissanite, white sapphire, and cubic zirconia.
Let’s take a closer look at them and see what makes each one a good choice:
Moissanite
Moissanite is one of the best faux diamonds that exist. It is made of silicon carbide and is almost as hard as real diamond (moissanite’s hardness is 9.5 on the Mohs scale, whereas diamond’s is 10).
Moissanite is also reasonably colorless and looks much like the real thing. What gives away its non-diamond origin, however, is its sparkle – it is more colorful than that of a real diamond.
Moissanite is very rare in nature, and for this reason, many diamond imitations made of this material are lab-created.
Click here to see a selection of moissanite jewelry.
Cubic Zirconia
Cubic zirconia (CZ) is one of the most widely used materials to make faux diamonds.
The reason for its popularity is its price, which is only a fraction of what a real diamond is worth.
This material is synthetic and consists of zirconium dioxide.
Although it is pretty cheap, cubic zirconia is not the hardest diamond imitation around. Its Mohs scale rating is 8-8.5 out of 10.
Although this is considered relatively hard, moissanite and white sapphire are diamond substitutes that are harder.
Compared with them, cubic zirconia tends to scratch more easily because it is softer, and when too many scratches accumulate on its surface, it loses its original brilliance.
Check out this selection of cubic zirconia jewelry.
White Sapphire
White sapphire is another great material to use as a diamond imitation.
Its appearance is similar to that of real diamond and its hardness rating (9 on the Mohs scale) is higher than that of cubic zirconia, although not as high as that or a real diamond.
In addition to its durability, white sapphire’s relative lack of color makes this stone a good faux diamond.
Click here to see a collection of jewelry with white sapphire.
Other Faux Diamonds
There are other materials that can be used as diamond imitations.
Some of them are zircon, rutile, spinel, and synthetic garnet.
Although they all look similar to real diamond, they are softer, with a Mohs rating of less than 8-8.5.
How Faux Diamonds Are Different from Synthetic Diamonds
It should be noted that faux diamond are not the same as synthetic diamonds.
Unlike fake diamonds, synthetic ones have the same chemical composition as real diamonds.
The only difference between synthetic and natural diamonds is their origin – synthetic diamonds are created in a laboratory by using high temperature and high pressure.
Where to Buy Diamond Imitations?
For cubic zirconia or other simulated diamonds, check out the great selection of diamond imitations at Amazon.
