What is "zirconium dioxide"

n. a white crystalline oxide; used in refractories and in insulation and abrasives and enamels and glazes [syn: zirconium oxide, zirconia]

Zirconium dioxide , sometimes known as zirconia (not to be confused with zircon), is a white crystalline oxide of zirconium. Its most naturally occurring form, with a monoclinic crystalline structure, is the mineral baddeleyite. A dopant stabilized cubic structured zirconia, cubic zirconia, is synthesized in various colours for use as a gemstone and a diamond simulant.