Zircon

Item Description

Zircon is one of the oldest known gems in the world. It's actually so old that we don't specifically know for sure where it got its name. The word Zircon comes from either from the Syriac zargono, from the Arabic word zarqun, meaning vermilion, or from the Persian zargun, meaning golden-colored. These words are combined into "jargoon", a term applied to light-colored Zircons. The English word Zircon is derived from the German "Zirkon," an adaptation of these previous words. Yellow Zircon is sometimes called "hyacinth" in allusion the flower. Apparently during the the Middle Ages, all yellow stones of East Indian origin were called hyacinth, but today this term is restricted to the yellow Zircons. This particular stone has an interesting dark greenish-golden color. The gem is virtually eye-clean, and has a lovely "Step Oval" cut, which really helps the color come out. These gems have been coming out of Sri Lanka for many years, but they are still not terribly easy to find in this color.