The colorless beryl, known in the trade as ' goshenite', is for the most part unknown to most average consumers when it comes to jewelry gemstones. The precious green beryl known as emerald is one of the most popular gemstones, and its light-blue beryl sister, aquamarine, is also one of the most important gemstones available today. A fine diamond-cut white zircon can easily fool many people, although to trained eyes, its high level of birefringence can easily distinguish it from that of fine diamond. In fact, before synthetic diamond simulants were introduced, white zircon was the most commonly used diamond replacement. It has the highest refractive index of all white gemstones, even higher than that of sapphire. When it comes to replicating the brilliance of diamond, white zircon is actually the best alternative available. These include white zircon, colorless beryl (goshenite) and danburite. There are also some other lesser-known white, colorless gemstones available that offer interesting alternatives. White sapphire is becoming especially popular in bridal and engagement jewelry, not just as melee stones, but it is often worn as center stones too. White sapphire can be found in sizes as small as 1 millimeter, and can usually be found in princess cuts and round diamond cuts. Sapphire has excellent hardness and durability, making it perfectly suitable for daily wear in any type of jewelry. White sapphire is an excellent substitute for diamond melee accents and could even be used for larger side stones as seen in three-stone ring designs. However, the brilliance of white topaz is superior to white quartz, owing to its higher refractive index, making it a slightly better alternative to white diamond.įor smaller white gemstones, white sapphire is by far the most popular colorless gemstone. White topaz is slightly harder than quartz (8 on the Mohs scale) making it more resistant to scratches but because of its perfect cleavage, it can easily be fractured, so it is not necessarily more durable. It is very common to find white quartz in oversized cocktail rings and fashion or 'costume' jewelry. It lacks the fire and dispersion of diamond and sapphire, but it offers excellent affordability and can be found in extremely large sizes. However, when used as a diamond substitute, white quartz definitely requires a brilliant or diamond-cut since it doesn't have as much brilliance compared to other white gemstone types. White quartz, also known as rock crystal, is the defining mineral for 7 on Mohs scale of hardness, which means it is quite durable and is considered to be quite suitable for most jewelry designs, including rings.
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