Zircon is a natural gemstone and a December birthstone. It is not cubic zirconia, which is a different, lab-made material.
Silicate (nesosilicate)
Zircon
Circón
- Palette
- Blue Yellow Brown Red Green Clear
- Mined in
- Australia, South Africa, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Canada
- Hardness
- Mohs 7.0–7.5 ?
- See-through
- transparent
- Known since
- Prehistoric
- Named for
- Persian zargun, meaning gold-hued
- Also sold as
- hyacinth, jacinth, jargoon, cambolite (heated blue zircon)
- Intention
- Love Protection
- Looking for
- Self-love Protection Safe travels Hope
- Water
- Fine with water and mild soap
- Dye or finish
- Zircon is very commonly heated, especially blue and colorless stones.
Not in our pieces now
800 TO 1,000 °C
Heating common brown zircon to 800 to 1,000 °C can turn it colorless or blue.
80 KILOMETERS
The Jack Hills of Western Australia, home of Earth's oldest dated zircons, form a belt about 80 kilometers long, roughly 800 kilometers north of Perth.
15 TO 25 CARATS
Before the war, blue zircon gems of 15 to 25 carats were available; today stones up to 10 carats are very scarce.
What it is
A natural gemstone with a bright, diamond-like sparkle, found in blue, yellow, brown, red, green and colorless. The popular blue and colorless stones are usually made by heating brown crystals. It is a natural mineral, not cubic zirconia, which is a different lab-made material.
What gives it its color
Zircon's colors come from natural radiation damage (from traces of uranium and thorium) and trace elements; most blue and colorless zircon is brown stone heated to about 800 to 1,000 C.
Where it comes from
Gem zircon comes mainly from Southeast Asia, especially Cambodia, along with Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and Malawi.
In history
Grains of zircon from Jack Hills in Western Australia, dated to about 4.4 billion years old and reported in 2001, are among the oldest pieces of Earth ever measured. In Victorian times blue zircon was a favorite, fine zircon appeared in English estate jewelry from the 1880s, and in the early 1900s colorless zircon was widely used as a diamond stand-in.
What's said about it
In crystal lore today, zircon is the stone people keep for self-love and a clearer sense of their own intuition.
In older Hindu gem lore, the hyacinth, as zircon was called, is one of nine sacred gems. Old European lore made the jacinth a traveler's stone, said to bring a warm welcome on the road.
People wear it near the neck or ears, or carry it in a shirt pocket.
How people wear or keep it: Near the neck, on the ears, in a shirt pocket, or in a quiet corner.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, zircon is paired with the throat and third eye and crown chakras, so practitioners rest it there during meditation or lie down with it in place for a few quiet minutes. Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: near the neck, on the ears, in a shirt pocket. People reach for it when they want self-love, protection, safe travels, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
The chakra and star sign this stone is usually matched with. These are popular traditions, not facts about the stone.
ChakraThroat, Third Eye, Crown
ZodiacLeo, Sagittarius, Virgo
BirthstoneDecember
Also calledhyacinth, jacinth, jargoon
Care
- Hard, but the facet edges can chip, so keep it from hard knocks.
- Clean with a soft cloth and lukewarm water with a little mild soap, then dry.
- Keep it away from strong heat, since heat is how its color is changed in the first place.
- Store apart from harder stones such as sapphire and diamond.
- Ask the seller to name the stone; cubic zirconia is a different lab-made material with a similar-sounding name.
How to tell what you have
- Zircon is heavy for its size (Mohs about 7.5) and shows doubled back facet edges under a loupe.
- It is not cubic zirconia, a lab-made stone often confused with it.
What sets the price
Price follows color, clarity and size; blue is the most valued shade, and most blue and colorless zircon gets its color from heating brown stones, so natural green, the rarest, is a different thing from the usual heated colors.
Rules and sourcing
Zircon is very commonly heated, especially blue and colorless stones. The FTC jewelry guides call for a seller to disclose heat.
Questions people ask at our table
Is zircon the same as cubic zirconia?
No. Zircon is a natural mineral, zirconium silicate, that forms in the earth. Cubic zirconia is a lab-made material used as a diamond look-alike. Zircon is slightly softer and shows double refraction, which cubic zirconia does not.
Is zircon a birthstone?
Yes. Zircon is one of the modern December birthstones, along with turquoise and tanzanite.
Is the color natural?
Brown zircon is the natural base color. Heating it to roughly 800 to 1,000 degrees Celsius can turn it blue or colorless. Pink, red and purple zircon form naturally over very long spans of time.
Where does zircon come from?
Mostly Australia and South Africa, with blue stones heated in Cambodia. Tiny zircon crystals in Western Australia are the oldest dated minerals on Earth, about 4.4 billion years old.
How do I look after it?
Wipe it with a soft cloth and keep it from hard knocks and strong sun. It is hard, but the facet edges can chip.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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