Cubic Zirconia
Cubic Zirconia, also known as Zirconia or CZ for short, is a man made material and should not be confused with the natural mineral Zircon which has very different properties. CZ can be made in most colors and also as color change.
Physical properties:
| Chemistry: | ZrO2 |
| Hardness: | 8¼ |
| SG: | 5.6-6.0 |
| Cleavage: | None |
| Fracture: | Somewhat brittle |
| Thermal sensitivity: | None |
Optical properties:
| RI: | 2.15-2.20 |
| Dispersion: | 0.060 (high) |
| Double refraction: | None |
| Pleochroism: | None |
| Critical angle: | 28° |
Facet angles (pavilion/crown):
| Vargas: | 41°/35° |
| Roth: | 40°/35° |
| Perkins: | 41°/35° |
| Cornwall: | 38.7°/41.5 |
| Carroll: | 40.9°/35.4° |
| Raytech: | 41°/35° |
Cutting lap:
All grit sizes except the coarsest
Facet polishing:
| Vargas: | 100k diamond on zinc or ceramic. Aluminum oxide on tin/lead |
| Herbst: | Diamond on metal or ceramic |
| Perkins: | Diamond on BATT |
| Raytech: | Diamond 14 or finer on Fast Lap, ceramic, zinc or copper |
Orientation:
According to shape
Tips!
Be careful with pre-polishing, run it a little longer than normal. If the damage layer is not removed, small fragments will come loose from the facet edges when polishing. These small fragments can cause surprisingly large scratches.
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