Look at the celebs on the red carpet, decked out in glittering jewels. Some of them may be distastefully overdone, but hey, wouldn't it be nice to be decked out in stunning jewels too? Not just a tiny little sparkles like diamond dust but decent-sized rocks.

Sparkling jewels make a blah black dress or a boring plain outfit ultra-glamorous. On the other hand, the celebs earn millions per movie. They can easily afford diamonds, rubies, sapphires and probably King Solomon's mines. Those stunning jewels are peanuts to them. How can out paltry paychecks compare to that?

Actually, you can afford stunning jewels too. I'm not asking you to rob a bank. Just go for jewelry set with cubic zirconia.

1. Cubic zirconia looks just like real diamonds, rubies,emeralds and sapphires or whatever gems they are used to substitute. Okay, an expert can tell the difference by examining the jewelry but when your wear the jewels, would onlookers be able to tell the difference? I seriously doubt it. A cubic zirconia necklace or chandelier earrings are ultra-glamorous additions to your wardrobe. They'd make your plainest outfit glamorous.

2. CZ is affordable.

Great looks don't come cheap. Most of the time, that is. When it comes cubic zirconia, you get classy sparkle at bargain basements prices.

3. CZ is durable.

These stones aren't as had a diamonds but they are hard enough, being an 8.5 to 9 on the MOH's scale of hardness. (Emerald is 7.5-8 on the MOH's scale).

4. Cubic Zirconia is great for travelling.

Going on a holiday? Leave you diamonds, rubies and precious gemstones in a vault. Bring your cz jewelry with you instead. Moving from place to place increases your chances of losing things. Also, who wants to get mugged while on vacation? Earrings are easily misplaced. Your hotel room may not be as secure as you think, after all, someone has to clean the room while you are out. In any case, you lose much less if your cubic zirconia jewelry goes missing as compared you ten thousand dollar diamond necklace.

5. You can have a wide array of cz jewelry, even on a moderate budget.

Hey, for the price of a diamond necklace, how many cubic zirconia necklaces, earrings, bracelets and what-have-you can you buy? Enough to go with every dress in your wardrobe, I'd bet.

6. You can afford signature pieces with large gemstones.

The price of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and precious gems increase exponentially with the size. Few people can afford chunky jewelry with large precious gemstones. But with CZ, you can get look alike stunners at affordable prices. You could even wear 1 to 3 carat rocks on your ears, even on a moderate budget. How much would a pair of earrings with 3 carat diamonds cost? Forget diamonds. Go for CZ instead.

7. Cubic Zirconia is not fragile.

Unlike glass which was used to make costume jewelry in the past, cubic zirconia does not shatter. It isn't breakable like glittery glass, which makes it the ideal stone for high-end fashion jewelry in these modern times.