About Zircons
Not to be confused with Zirconia, Zircon is a natural mineral that occurs in many colors, including reddish brown, yellow, green, blue, gray and colorless. It's a magnificent and underrated gemstone that has been worn and treasured since ancient times. The color of zircons can sometimes be changed by heat treatment, by nature or by men. Common brown zircons can be transformed into colorless and blue zircons by heating to 800 to 1000 °C. In geological settings, the development of pink, red, and purple zircon occurs after hundreds of millions of years, if the crystal has sufficient trace elements to produce color centers. Color in this red or pink series is annealed in geological conditions above temperatures of around 400 °C.
Zircon is also very resistant to heat and corrosion. It has a hardness of 6 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale. Zircons can be used in all kinds of jewelry, when used in rings the stone should be protected from scratching.
Australia leads the world in zircon mining, producing 37% of the world total and accounting for 40% of world EDR (economic demonstrated resources) for the mineral. South Africa is Africa’s main producer, with 30% of world production, second after Australia.