Red Cambodian Zircon Facet Rough

This is a 27.6 ct parcel of Red Cambodian Zircon Rough for Faceting. It is from Ratanikiri Province.

Zircon is easy to cut and produces very bright and lively stones. Most of the zircons are eye-clean with nice crystal shapes though a few pieces might be waterworn pebbles. The colours range from peachy-beige to cola brown to red.

These Cambodian Zircons can be heat-treated to lighten them. For the example below the zircon was held in the tweezers over an alcohol lamp until the colour started to change. Removing from heat and air-cooling stops the colour change process, so you can have any colour you choose. The stones I have heated this way change from cola brown to cherry red to orange then finally a light champagne colour.

The parcel weighs 27.6 ct and contains 16 pieces. Individual pieces range from 1.51 ct to 1.94 ct with the average being about 1.72 carats.

Note: Cambodian Zircons are also heat-treated in a reducing atmosphere (oxygen-free environment) to change them to varying shades of blue. I have not tried treating these zircons and do not know if they will turn blue as well.