Zircon is a colourful gem with high refraction and fire that’s unfairly confused with cubic zirconia. Many people have heard of zircon but never seen it. This is mostly because of colourless zircon’s wide use as a diamond simulant in the early 1900s. It was long ago replaced in that role by more convincing look-alikes, but its name still means “imitation” to many people. That’s unfortunate because zircon is a beautiful coloured stone with its own fair share of folklore and charm.