Zircon and Diamond Ring in 14K

Zircon's fire, brilliance, and beauty can rival any gem. Once considered a diamond alternative, today we know that natural zircons are in fact the most ancient materials on Earth, holding within their brilliant depths a time capsule of our planet's birth. A tiny fragment of zircon discovered in western Australia is the oldest known object on earth: 4.404 billion years old, just 150 million years younger than Earth itself. An even older example was found in a large meteorite in Chile. The oldest thing scientists have ever examined is a zircon crystal from a meteorite in Chile that formed at least 4.6 billion years ago in the swirling disk of dust and rocks that became the planets.

14K white gold is the most popular white precious jewelry metal. Its pale glow is the perfect setting for cool-toned gems. Since gold is naturally golden yellow in color, to make 14K white gold, 58.5% gold is alloyed with white metals, usually silver, zinc, palladium, or nickel. These metals also improve the hardness, durability and affordability of white gold jewelry, since pure gold scratches fairly easily. To get that bright shine, most white gold jewelry is also plated with rhodium, a platinum group metal.