2 questions

1. I found this on one website, so I'd like to know are these claims true?

Cubic Zirconia, contrary to public belief, can be found in the natural world
but is extremely rare. Cubic zirconia was first discovered in 1937 by two
German mineralogists but in very minute quantities. It wasn't a significant
find and was soon forgotten.
Then in the early 1970's Russian scientists began to grow cubic zirconia
under laboratory conditions, not for jewelry making but for industrial use
and space technology. Because of its similarities to mineral gemstones it
wasn't long before attention was focused on the jewelry possibilities of
this new man made material.

The same website states that Moissanite is also originally found in nature
and synthesized after. If that's true, then why do most sites missinform
public by stating that neither CZ nor Moissanite can be found in nature?

2. Can a jeweller, with his common jewellery tools, set a stone into a
stainless steel setting?

Thank you!

On Sat, 05 Jun 2004 11:41:02 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry "m4816k"
wrote:

1. I found this on one website, so I'd like to know are these claims true?

Cubic Zirconia, contrary to public belief, can be found in the natural world
but is extremely rare. Cubic zirconia was first discovered in 1937 by two
German mineralogists but in very minute quantities. It wasn't a significant
find and was soon forgotten.
Then in the early 1970's Russian scientists began to grow cubic zirconia
under laboratory conditions, not for jewelry making but for industrial use
and space technology. Because of its similarities to mineral gemstones it
wasn't long before attention was focused on the jewelry possibilities of
this new man made material.

The same website states that Moissanite is also originally found in nature
and synthesized after. If that's true, then why do most sites missinform
public by stating that neither CZ nor Moissanite can be found in nature?

The facts cited by the first site are indeed true. But, for all practical
purposes, so are most sites you also mention.

Cubic Zirconia has indeed been found in nature, in the form of microscopic
crystals in certain meteorites. So technically, it can be found in nature,
which is why strictly speaking, cubic zirconia (the gem) is properly referred
to as synthetic cubic zirconia. But the majority of sites simplify things to
the real world situation, which is that you can't just go out and find natural
cubic zirconia gems. Are they technically correct? No. But in practice, they
are, and most consumers are mostly interested in knowing whether cubic zirconia
exists as a natural gem, rather than some esoteric microscopic rare curiosity
some mineralogist once found...

Moissanite, as sold as a gem, is a nearly colorless form of Silcon Carbide.
Silicon carbide is common as a synthetic abrasive, and also known as a natural
mineral. As a nearly colorless material, however, it's very rare in nature,
not available as gem material. Making it that way as a synthetic is a really
rather neat trick, all told. So again, the web site that claims moissanite
does occur in nature is correct. It has been found. But not in gem sizes or
significant quantities, so the other web sites that state you can't find it in
nature, are correct as well if they are referring to the practical, real world
of gems. In theory, it does exist, and has been found. In practice, it's not
available to consumers.

It's not a question of intending to mislead, but rather the opposite.
Simplifying the situation to reflect real world realities of the gem
marketplace, rather than confusing the issues with esoteric details that will
have folks searching all over to find a nice natural moissanite or cubic
zirconia gem just because they've heard they can be found in nature and don't
quite understand the minute degree to which that is true.

Peter

2. Can a jeweller, with his common jewellery tools, set a stone into a
stainless steel setting?

Thank you!