CZ Cubic Zirconia Sterling Silver Jewelry

Today we’re taking a look at the somewhat unusual combination of cz and turquoise.  We love the way cubic zirconia, with its fire and sizzle looks in contrast to the bright, matte turquoise, creating a more casual look.

CZ pairs with silver or gold in concert with turquoise, but the silver tends to be the most common, and as far as precious metals go, the most affordable.

While we’re obviously huge cz and Diamonique fans by themselves, we love the bold colors, and the way the turquoise varies from one stone to the next, making each piece totally unique!

You’ll also find that the turquoise and cz combination is more economical than pairing cubic zirconia with other materials like pearls, or other gemstones.

The biggest bang for your buck when pairing turquoise and cubic zirconia, comes with the purchase of a set, where you may find coordinating earrings and pendant or ring.  The turquoise pieces themselves don’t have to be too big in order to make a statement.

Diamonique jewelry is carried exclusively by QVC and QVCUK and is known for its affordability, flawlessness, brilliance, elegant proportions and an enormous selection of styles.  If you’re new to Diamonique jewelry, there are a lot of options, so here’s an idea of what you have to look forward to.

There are more than a dozen brands within Diamonique jewelry.  They range from adorable Disney pieces that are sweet and sophisticated to Judith Ripka pieces in sterling silver, pearls and gemstones that are also distinctive and timeless.  Other Diamonique brands are recognizable for their long history in the bridal category such as Tacori and Ritani.  These brands bring the same modernity and glamour of their couture collections to the fine Diamonique jewelry lines.

The latest Diamonique jewelry trends combine colorful gemstones with the clear, radiance of Diamonique gemstones.  You’ll find the popular buckle motif in rings and bracelets, perhaps echoing European equestrian classics from brands like Gucci.  Flowers as pendants or rings are also popular in Diamonique jewelry.  Finally, you’ll find easy-to-wear hingled bangle bracelets, the return of cultured pearls, and brilliant stacked ring sets featuring beaded, prong, and pave design Diamonique settings.

Diamonique jewelry is indistinguishable from diamond jewelry pieces because of its clarity, settings, substance and use of precious metals like sterling silver and 18k gold.

The vintage key motif is one of the biggest trends in jewelry today. From Tiffany to Target, you’ll find diamond or cubic zirconia studded key pendant necklaces and earrings.  Many are comprised of only sterling silver, but we think the gemstone keys featuring pave cubic zirconia or other gemstones have a special sparkle.

The key motif can symbolize many things and makes a lovely gift.  It could represent holding the key to someone’s heart, or an opening of your heart to someone. (There’s a Madonna song in there somewhere, forgive me).   Key jewelry may also indicate trust, or the keeping of a secret.   Particularly in the more vintage looking designs, it can have a nostalgic sentiment.  Like hearts, crosses, butterflies and circles, the vintage key design is versatile and timeless.

For an adorable take on the vintage key jewelry trend, we love these Sterling Silver and Cubic Zirconia Key Drop Earrings.

We love snowflake design cubic zirconia jewelry like these stud earrings and necklace/pin combination.  The snowflake motif reminds us of cutting out paper snowflakes in grade school, and our boundless excitement for Christmas winter vacation.

A holiday jewelry must, these elegant sterling silver Cubic Zirconia Snowflake Earrings have hypoallergenic posts, and 2 carats of hand cut cubic zirconia stones. Their perfect, delicate shape sparkles, while the snowflake’s symmetry gives each piece a calm, balanced feel.  They coordinate beautifully with a Cubic Zirconia Snowflake Pin/Pendant necklace that comes suspended on an 18-inch rope chain.

Best of all, they’re guaranteed to never melt!

Butterfly rings shimmer with personality and radiate style.  They symbolize rebirth and new beginnings, in addition to possessing delicate beauty.  Butterfly rings capture that moment when you’re able to observe a butterfly standing still in its natural state, but about to fly away at any time. They are a gorgeous adornment for the hand and have a ladylike, vintage quality.

The butterfly ring look works in both dressy and casual settings.  Butterflies are a popular wedding theme and butterfly jewelry makes a beautiful gift for bridesmaids.   Whether you already love butterflies and butterfly jewelry, admired it in recent runway fashion shows, or fell in love with Mariah Carey’s signature butterfly ring, a cubic zirconia butterfly ring is joyful, timeless and elegant.

Pave cubic zirconia detail on the wings gives the butterfly ring weight and substance, while the spacing of the wings adds lightness.  The butterfly body is comprised of three larger cubic zirconia gemstones.  Butterfly rings tend to be comfortable to wear.  Despite having a fairly large diameter on top of the hand, the band surrounding the finger is thin and comfortable.  We particularly like this Cubic Zirconia Butterfly Ring because of its layers of wings, the density of stones and its three-dimensionality.  We also like the rounded wing edges giving the ring a softer appearance.

Layered cubic zirconia chain necklaces are all about relaxed glamour created by multiple strands of differing lengths. Draping beautifully around the neck, you’ll see this sparkling cz jewelry look in both casual and red carpet situations. There are two ways to achieve the layered cubic zirconia chain necklace style. Both ways feature long “station chains” where you have a sterling silver or gold chain punctuated every one to three inches by a gemstone. This cz gemstone detail, often round and bezel set, goes all the way around the length of the dainty necklace.  It can hang all the way down to hip length in some instances.  Because of the number and breadth of stones, this layered style makes a stunning visual impact when wrapped around the neck numerous times.

The first way to wear a shimmering layered cz necklace look is by selecting one or more different pieces of varying lengths. Mix station chains with some hanging close to the neck and others at the chest or even waist level. You may also combine cz station necklaces with other types of chains. This is a great look because you have the flexibility to adjust the necklaces to best accent your outfit and neckline. Longer necklaces can be worn as is, or wrapped one or more times around the neck. One gorgeous example is the incredibly beautiful  Bezel-Set Contessa Necklace that can be worn as a single, long drapey accessory or wrapped two or more times around the neck.

Another way to achieve the multi-layer look is with a pre-layered single necklace comprised of several strands secured together at the clasp. In this style, you are wearing one piece, but it contains between three and eight chains punctuated with cubic zirconia. Each chain falls at a different length and gives the impression of wearing multiple necklaces.

As far as we’re concerned, vintage jewelry looks are always in style. Scouring flea markets, pawn shops, garage sales or your family members’ jewelry stash can yield some fabulous vintage cubic zirconia jewelry finds.

Right now, however, there’s a huge trend, not only in cubic zirconia jewelry, but in vintage or vintage-style cz pieces. The type of vintage jewelry we’re talking about is characterized by a lovely patina, elegant filigree mountings, classic floral designs, heirloom lace patterns and an unmistakable shimmer. Today’s “new” vintage cubic zirconia jewelry styles are often modeled after original vintage designs.

Here are a few examples of our favorite new vintage cz jewelry looks:

This Heavenly Lace CZ Filigree Bracelet has eye-catching scroll-like detail with 133 cubic zirconia stones. We love that it is a unique look that you won’t see everyone wearing. The gorgeous design spans the entire exterior of this bracelet, that can only be described as exquisite.

We also love this Fine Vintage Champagne CZ Ring with its beautiful champagne color cubic zirconia in the center. The center cz stone is encircled by 16 white cz accent gemstones. The petal-like border looks like something you’d find in your grandmother’s jewelry box.

Finally, check out this showstopping Luxe Lace Trio which includes a cz ring, bracelet and earrings. There are well over 200 cubic zirconia gemstones in this gorgeous set. It has a fancy, delicate look that is most striking for special occasions.  You can easily wear the pieces separately as well.

Almost Diamonds makes a great point about cluster rings, a very popular jewelry design featuring a number of cubic zirconia or other gemstones “clustered” together.  Oftentimes, these rings will use a lower quality diamond, meaning that many of the stones don’t have the clarity you would expect from diamonds.  Cubic zirconia cluster rings shine and twinkle with maximum clarity.

“If you were to search for a cluster ring, cluster earring or even the classic tennis bracelet, it may be difficult to find one that features multiple diamonds that are of the same quality and clarity. For instance, one may look good and the next may have visible inclusions or even appear cloudy. With a cubic zirconia cluster ring, cubic zirconia stud earrings or cz tennis bracelet, you will have a flawless, eyeclean look in every single stone.”

The Benefits of Wearing Cubic Zirconia Jewelry « AlmostDiamonds.com Reviews and Articles.

If the Bluefly blog Flypaper says it, then it must be true.  Flypaper, the official blog for designer shopping site Bluefly has some suggestions for taking a casual daytime piece and transforming it into elegant evening wear with just a few, inexpensive accessories including cubic zirconia.  And what would those accessories be?  One is a cubic zirconia pave resin bangle, aka “barfly bling,” that’s both chunky and elegant.

How To Take A Denim Mini Dress From Day To Night | Flypaper – Stuck on Style.

One thing we haven’t been discussing is the prevalence of cubic zirconia beads for jewelry making.  Cubic zirconia is not just for tennis bracelets and engagement rings! We do a fair amount of beading and have seen bead websites and catalogues exploding with every shape and color of cubic zirconia bead imaginable.  Depending on where you shop, smaller cubic zirconia beads can be found for as little as fifty cents each but rise considerably from there depending on size and shape.  You’ll find faceted hearts, rondelles, briolettes, marquise and more cz shapes in stunning colors.

A Bead A Day blogs about gorgeous beads and jewelry findings, as well as featuring some fabulous and crafty designers.  We love how she appreciates and shares the beauty of these small, overlooked objects.  She just posted a lovely ruby-colored cubic zirconia bead to be included in one of her designs.

A Bead a Day describes:

“These CZ teardrops are actually intended to be used as pendants which meant they were a little more expensive than I would have expected to pay for just the beads, BUT sometimes you have to go with the way the wind blows and believe that something even better is in store!”

A Bead A Day: CZ Teardrop Pendant.