Cubic Zirconia: A Bouquet of Color

I used to think that all cubic zirconias were clear, but when I started making jewelry, I definitely learned otherwise. Clear cubic zirconias have long been used as an inexpensive but beautiful substitute for diamonds, but CZs are also made in a wide array of colors, and in many cases are a wonderful substitute for natural gemstones. Artbeads.com recently offered me the chance to try, for free, some of their CZ beads. I had so much fun shopping, because of the great selection of sizes and shapes. Ultimately I chose olivine, amethyst, garnet, champagne, and jet tear-shaped briolettes, although these colors are just a small sample of the shades and shapes available.

Above are sterling silver earrings with olivine green drops. The clarity of these CZ briolettes is amazing, and the light catches them beautifully. Occasionally you’ll run into a CZ briolette with a hole that is even too small for 26 gauge wire, and while making these earrings I did end up breaking the tip off of one of the briolettes. But I’ve found that is true of most briolettes, whether natural or synthetic–the point is so small that you do have to be careful when wrapping them with wire.

Jewelry designers often create pieces in which the briolette, wrapped or unwrapped, is meant to dangle like a teardrop, and that’s what I did with the earrings above as well as the amethyst briolette I used to embellish this rose quartz heart. Again, the clarity of these amethyst CZ briolettes is wonderful, because it can be difficult to find inexpensive faceted amethyst briolettes with this kind of clarity, size uniformity, and richness of color. This piece would be perfect for a Valentine’s Day gift or a February birthday.

As much as I love dangling briolettes, I also love to create cluster designs, which is what I did in this polymer clay piece with a mixture of champagne and garnet briolettes.

In addition to the wide range of colors, I love the uniformity and the clarity of cubic zirconia, and I am grateful to Artbeads.com for giving me the opportunity to play with these little gems and share my discoveries with you.

Disclosure Notice: All cubic zirconia briolettes used in these pieces were provided free of charge by Artbeads.com for my participation in the Artbeads.com blogging program. I have not received any payment from Artbeads.com, and this post represents only my personal opinion.