A loupe is a magnifying glass that you can buy at any jewelry store and will let you take a closer look at your gem and setting. The majority of diamonds are made in nature so that means you’re going to see some imperfections. A fake stone would be absolutely perfect.

Most of our Diamond Alternatives are Austrian Zirconia (99.99% of the time) but are not limited to this type of stone and may vary depending on availability. The only type of alternative that is not used in our stones is moissanite.

A simple list of some diamond alternatives are explained below.
Austrian and Cubic Zirconia - a synthetic substance and is one of the most popular diamond substitutes. It is made of zirconium dioxide and is relatively hard.
Zircon - a mineral that occurs in nature and can come in a variety of colors. Some people confuse it with cubic zirconia, but these two substances are different. Colorless pieces of zircon are sometimes cut, polished, and used as diamond imitations.
Moissanite - (or silicon carbide) is a mineral that is so rare in nature that it is often created synthetically in a lab. Moissanite looks very similar to diamond but tends to exhibit more colorful sparkle when exposed to light.
White Sapphire and White Topaz – are often used as diamond substitutes. Sapphire is not as hard as diamond bit is still harder than most other gemstones. The combination of durability and colorlessness makes them popular as a diamond imitation.
Rutile - a mineral that is commonly found as red and brown colors. Synthetic rutile can be created colorless, and it is this variety that is used as a diamond substitute. This mineral is, however, much softer than real diamond and scratches easily
Spinel and Aluminum Garnet - are natural minerals that occur in colors such as red, green, brown, blue, black, and white. White spinels and/or aluminum garnet are colorless, and this is why they are sometimes used as fake diamonds.
Glass or Rhinestones -  lot of diamond imitations are made of glass. These substitutes are cheap, but their brilliance and sparkle are nowhere near those of real diamonds. Also, fake diamonds made of glass are much easier to scratch or chip.