• Many scholars think the stone’s name comes from the Arabic word zarkun, meaning “cinnabar” or “vermilion.” Others believe the source is the Persian word zargun, or “gold colored.” Considering zircon’s color range, either derivation seems possible.
• Tiffany’s famed gem buyer, gemologist George Kunz, was a notable zircon advocate. He once proposed the name “Starlite” to promote the gem’s fiery nature. The name never caught on.
• Zircon occurs in a diverse range of colors. Its variety of yellow, green, red, reddish-brown, and blue hues makes it a favorite among collectors.
• Zircon of all colors are used as gems, but blue, golden-brown, and white are the colors most often used.
• Zircon crystals grow in many different types of rock and possess a range of optical and physical properties.
• Zircon’s strong luster and intense fire comes closer to resembling diamond than any other natural gem.
• Zircon is sometimes confused with cubic zirconia. Cubic zirconia, a synthetic, inexpensive diamond simulant, resembles colorless zircon and has a similar sounding name. However, the two are entirely separate substances, and have no connection with each other except for the fact that they both contain the element zirconium in their chemical structure and both come in a variety of colors.
• Popular during Victorian times, blue zircon frequently adorned English estate jewelry from the 1880s. Zircon with a cloudy or smoky appearance was also popular in mourning jewelry.
• Color differences in zircon are caused by impurities, some of which (like uranium) can be slightly radioactive. These gemstones are often treated with heat to stabilize the radioactivity.
• Zircon with its slight radioactivity plays a crucial role in radiometric dating. The oldest mineral on Earth, zircon contains important clues about the formation of our planet.
• Though sources of zircon include Thailand, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Cambodia, Canada, and the United States, Australia leads the world in Zircon mining, producing 37% of the world’s supply.
• Found in the Earth’s crust, zircon is the oldest mineral on Earth, dating back more than 4.4 billion years.
• Zircon’s chemical makeup has allowed it to survive ages of geologic events like erosion and pressure shifts, allowing it to record these changes like a time capsule.
• Zircon sometimes contains the radioactive elements, such as uranium, which changes the gemstone’s chemical structure and color over time, giving us important clues about the formation of our planet.
• Heat treatment became a common practice in the 1920’s to enhance and stabilize the color of zircon gemstones for jewelry.
• Blue zircon, the most popular color of zircon today, is an alternative birthstone for December.

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