Commonly Marketed Diamond Alternatives

If you are in the market looking for a diamond alternative, you will find that there are dozens of gemstones marketed under a myriad of creative names. We know this can be very confusing, especially if you are just learning about diamonds and gemstones. We provide the following list of the more commonly marketed gemstones to assist you in your search.

Upon closer inspection, you will notice that all of these gemstones fall into three categories:

1. Diamond
2. Moissanite
3. Cubic Zirconia or CZ.

Unfortunately, some sellers of CZ jewelry may be dishonest regarding their scientific claims, and some may even deny that their gemstones are CZ. This raises questions as to why they would not be transparent about their products. For information about how the properties of CZ fall short of Moissanite, please refer to the 'Moissanite vs CZ' section.

One seller of CZ jewelry, DiamondNexusLabs.com, has gone to great lengths to deceive consumers, prompting us to provide a more detailed analysis of their CZ jewel as a public service. You can find further information by clicking the link provided.

Click here to learn more.

NAME MARKETED	TRUE IDENTITY	CHEMICAL COMPOSITION		HARDNESS	REFRACTIVE INDEX
C&C MOISSANITE	moissanite	SiC	silicon carbide	9 1/4	2.65-2.69
AMORA MOISSANITE	moissanite	SiC	silicon carbide	9 1/4	2.65-2.69
ASHA DIAMOND®	enhanced cubic zirconia	CZ+C+ Optical layer	cubic zirconia	9	2.2-2.24
MIA DONNA	enhanced cubic zirconia	CZ+C+ Optical layer	cubic zirconia	9	2.2-2.24
CARAT*	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
DIAMOND AURA	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
DIAMOND ESSENCE	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
DIAMOND NEXUS LABS	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
DIAMONIQUE	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
FANTASIA	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
GEMESIS DIAMONDS	synthetic diamond	C	carbon	10	2.417
LAB-DIAMONDS.COM	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
LANNYTE	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
RUSSIAN BRILLIANTS	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
SITARA GEM	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
SONA DIAMOND	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
ZIAMOND	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
BRIOLITE	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
AGAPE DIAMONDS	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
VERDALLI (also AGAPE, ManMadeDiamondsUsa.com)	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15
Labmadediamonds.com	cubic zirconia	Zr02	cubic zirconia	8 1/2	2.15