SILVER CUBIC ZIRCONIA HEART STUDS

Here we have a stunning pair of earrings; definitely not subtle at 7mm in diameter. They feature huge clear sparkly Cubic Zirconia stones cut into faceted heart shapes. They are for pierced ears and fasten with a butterfly closure at the back.

Cubic zirconia, as a Diamond substituent and jewel competitor, has been seen as a potential solution against conflict Diamonds and the controversy surrounding the rarity and value of Diamonds. This is attributed to confirmed evidence that there were price-fixing practices taken by the major producers of rough Diamonds, in the majority attributed to De Beers Company known as holding a monopoly on the market from the 1870s to early 2000s. However, De Beers and Co do not have as much power over the market, the price of Diamonds continues to increase due to the increased demand in emerging markets such as India and China. A closely related issue to this monopoly was the emergence of conflict Diamonds. It has been shown that the Kimberley Process is not as effective in decreasing the number of conflict Diamonds reaching the European and American markets as intended. A 2015 study from the Enough Project, showed that groups in the Central African Republic have reaped between US$3 million and US$6 million annually from blood Diamonds. Diamond substituents, therefore, have become an alternative to boycotting altogether the funding of such unethical practices. However, concerns from mining countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo are that a boycott in purchases of Diamonds would only worsen their economy. Therefore, it is argued that in the short term Diamonds substituents could be an alternative to reduce conflict around the market of Diamond mining but a long term solution would be to establish a more rigorous system of identifying the origin of these stones.

The modern indented red heart has been used on playing cards since the late 15th century. The aorta remains visible, as a protrusion at the top centre between the two "chambers" indicated in the symbol, in some depictions of the Sacred Heart well into the 18th century, and is partly still shown today (although mostly obscured by elements such as a crown, flames, rays, or a cross) but the "hearts" suit did not have this element since the 15th century. Since the 19th century, the symbol has often been used on Valentine's Day cards, chocolates, and similar popular culture artefacts as a symbol of romantic love. Heart symbols were used to symbolize "health" or "lives" in video games; influentially so in The Legend of Zelda (1986) and Minecraft (2009).  Since the 1990s, the heart symbol has also been used as an ideogram indicating health outside of the video gaming context, e.g. its use by restaurants to indicate heart-healthy nutrient content claim (e.g. "low in cholesterol").