Blue zircon shares the honor of being December’s birthstone with another beautiful blue stone: turquoise. Although zircon sounds like some sort of synthetic material, it in fact isn’t. Blue zircon is a natural stone. Unfortunately, this confusion has had a harmful effect on the popularity of the stone — as many people don’t know zircon has natural origins. It is actually the oldest mineral on earth, according to the Gemological Institute of America. There is zircon found in Australia that has been determined to be approximately 4.4 billion years old!
The gemstone zircon also comes in a wide variety of colors: from very deep reds to oranges, greens, yellows, and golden-brown. It can also be colorless! Many collectors know these stones have an expensive look without the high price. This is simply due to the lack of knowledge from the public. The confusion between zircon and cubic zirconia, a relatively inexpensive synthetic diamond simulant, has pervasively kept these beautiful stones from becoming expensive.
