Compare Russian Brilliants®

How Do Russian Brilliants Compare to Mined Diamonds?

Like mined diamonds, Russian Brilliants® are singly refractive and hand cut. The eye appeal is equivalent to the world's finest gem-quality, D-E colorless, VVS clarity diamonds. Hand cut from only the highest quality cubic zirconia rough material Russian Brilliants are convincingly the most natural looking diamond simulant. In fact, some jewelers have difficulty distinguishing between Russian Brilliants and mined diamonds. The most noticeable difference between Russian Brilliants and mined diamonds is the price tag: You’ll save 90%!

How Do Russian Brilliants Compare to Other Diamond Simulants?

The major differences that set Russian Brilliants apart from our competitors are the quality and the cut. We use only the finest quality cubic zirconia rough material available. Every stone is DE color, VVS clarity and guaranteed never to fade or discolor internally. Every Russian Brilliants stone is hand cut to the finest quality and ideal proportions, utilizing the GIA's gem proportion scope to ensure every stone is cut for maximum brilliance.

Some manufacturers use fancy marketing language and add special coatings to their cubic zirconia stones, claiming increased hardness and/or durability. Our research shows that these coatings do not add any significant resistance to wear, and they can even prevent light from shining into the stone, dulling its natural fire and sparkle. The fact is: All stones can chip, even Mined Diamonds. If you bump a coated stone against a hard surface, it has no more practical hardness or protection against damage or breakage than an untreated stone. While coatings may result in a scientifically measureable increase in the MOHS hardness of the stone, our research indicates there is no practical increase in hardness achieved.

How Do Russian Brilliants Compare to Moissanite?

Like Russian Brilliants, Moissanite is a manufactured stone. However, during the manufacturing process it becomes doubly refractive, meaning it reflects light twice. This produces a sparkling effect in sunlight, unlike a mined diamond. Like mined diamonds, Russian Brilliants simulated diamonds are singly refractive. They have extraordinary fire and brilliance with a visual appearance very close to diamond. Moissanite ranges in color from F to H while Russian Brilliants are all D to E color. Also, every Russian Brilliants simulated diamond is hand cut to ideal diamond proportions to most accurately replicate the brilliance and appearance of a fine quality mined diamond costing thousands more. In addition, the faceting on fancy shaped Moissanite is sometimes different from the faceting on fancy shaped diamonds. To anyone familiar with the look of a natural diamond, the difference will be quite noticeable.

Hardness

While Russian Brilliants is not quite as hard as ruby, sapphire or Moissanite, it is harder and more durable than all other colored stones in your jewelry box making it quite appropriate for daily wear. Natural diamond is the only gemstone that will not scratch or abrade over time from normal daily wear - although it is possible to chip or even break a diamond if you are not careful with it. Every other gem - both natural and man-made - is susceptible to scratching and chipping, and will show some signs of wear over time. With this in mind we created our Lifetime Warranty to replace your stone if it ever becomes abraded or damaged for any reason at any time.