Z
ZIRCON
Name: Some believe the source is the Persian word “zargun” or “gold colored”. Others believe it comes from the Arabic word “zarkun” meaning “cinnabar” or “vermilion”.
AKA: Hyacinth (orange or reddish-brown); “stone of virtue”.
Misnomers: Ceylon diamond.
Description: A natural gemstone with exceptional brilliance and a diamond-like luster. Green Zircon emits some level of natural radioactivity.
Composition: ZrSiO4; zirconium silicate.
Color: comes in almost every color of the spectrum: colorless, blue, greenish blue, green, grayish green, yellowish green, yellow, orange, red, brown, brown-red, purple, gray; brownish-red to brownish-yellow.
Treatments: Heat produces colorless, blue, yellow, orange, or red from brown material. Generally stable, but some stones revert when exposed to light. Routine. Almost all blue or colorless zircons are treated. Undetectable, but usually assumed due to prevalence.
Moh’s Hardness: 6 to 7.5.
Toughness: fair to poor; heat-treated stones can be brittle and might be easily abraded. Untreated stones are fair to good. Heated stones are port to fair, chip and abrade easily.
Location Found: East Africa; Australia; Brazil; Cambodia; Canada (Renfrew); China; France; Madagascar (Betroka); Myanmar (Burma); Sri Lanka; Tanzania; Thailand; Vietnam.
Birthstone: December (blue).
Wedding Anniversaries: 4th (blue).
Zodiac Signs: Leo, Sagittarius, Virgo.
Chakra Associations: all; Root (red).
Historical Associations: drive away evil spirits; promote riches; honor; wisdom; innocence; purity; constancy; induces sound sleep; increased life force; precise focus; stimulate sluggish energy in meridians; spiritual protection; psychic abilities are energized; other realms of conscious understanding; balancing the mundane with the spiritual; intuitive information; bringing your highest dreams into reality; promotes unions; deity.
Historically Used to Treat: sleeplessness; insomnia; cleanse toxins from the system; detoxification; sciatic nerve; nerve structures; increase bone stability; vertigo; mending of bones; mending of muscles; poison.
Care: High heat can alter color. General light stable; some heat-treated stones revert to their original color (light brown). Steam and ultrasonic cleaning are risky. Warm, soapy water is safe.
Imitations: Cubic zirconia; Glass; Synthetic sapphire; Synthetic spinel.