Cubic zirconia (CZ) is the diamond simulant closest in appearance to a real diamond, and its cut directly determines brightness and fire. Premium CZ goes through crystal growth, oriented sawing, rounding, faceting, and polishing; a standard round brilliant cut usually has 57 or 58 facets.

Material and Crystal Growth

Cubic zirconia is made from zirconium oxide stabilized with yttrium oxide, melted and crystallized in a cold crucible under high-frequency heating. The rough stones are colorless transparent blocks that can be doped with metal oxides to produce red, blue, green, and other colors. As a lab material, CZ has very high clarity, clean and free of natural inclusions.

Common Cut Styles

• Round brilliant: 57 or 58 facets, the classic cut with even fire, used in most settings.
• Princess cut: Square with sharp corners, V-shaped facet pattern, modern and clean.
• Oval, pear, and heart cuts: Fancy shapes used for pendants and earring center stones to flatter the hand.
• Step cut: Emerald-style with parallel facets, emphasizing transparency over fire.

The Cutting Workflow

• Orient and saw: Align the rough to set the table direction, then cut with a diamond saw blade.
• Rounding: Shape the rough into a round girdle, setting diameter and girdle thickness.
• Faceting: Grind the table, kite facets, star facets, upper and lower girdle facets, and pavilion mains in sequence.
• Polishing: Polish facets with diamond powder to a mirror finish.
• Inspection: Check symmetry, proportions, and chipping, then sort by cut grade.

Poor proportions (table percentage or pavilion depth) cause light leakage or a dead white look and kill fire. The difference between premium CZ and cheap CZ lies mainly in refractive index, clarity, and cut grade; low-cost rough often looks grayish, cloudy, or static in its fire. When buying in bulk, ask the supplier for size tolerances, cut grade, and photos of the actual light performance, and keep samples for comparison. Colorless CZ is the most common choice, while fancy colors require controlled doping and consistent batch-to-batch tone. MASCOT Jewelry selects high-cut-grade CZ for its 925 silver settings for outstanding light performance, and supports OEM and ODM projects with customer-supplied or selected stones, exported to over fifty countries. Contact us.