• Engagement ring"Diamond Macro 3" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: stephend9 (Stephen Durham) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  

Created Diamonds

• Created diamonds, also known as "man-made" or "lab-grown" diamonds, have the same properties as real diamonds do, except that they are grown in a laboratory instead of beneath the earth.
  
  

Cubic Zirconia

• Cubic zirconia can be found in a lot of costume jewelry. They are made of zirconium dioxide, while real diamonds are made of carbon. CZ is inexpensive to create and therefore used prolifically by the fashion and costume jewelry industry.
  
  

Material Difference

• While it can be difficult, if not impossible, to tell the difference between real and created diamonds, it is very easy to tell the difference between created diamonds and cubic zirconia. Cubic zirconia is made of synthetic material, which is noticeable when it is looked at through a jeweler's loupe.
  
  

Difference in Endurance of Wear

• After a couple of years, cubic zirconia tends to develop a cloudy, milky look due to the breakdown of its synthetic material. Created diamonds will not alter in appearance.
  
  

Difference in Appearance

• Cubic zirconia sparkles less than created diamonds do. Also, it's easy to find cubic zirconia in very large sizes, while created diamonds rarely reach even one carat in weight.
  
  

Difference in Cost

• Cubic zirconia can be extremely inexpensive, just a very small fraction of what a real diamond would cost. Created diamonds are more difficult to find, and therefore more costly, although they generally are about 75 percent cheaper than real diamonds.