Zirconia (ZrO2) is a well known oxide refractory material, possessing high strength and high melting point. Black zirconia is a variant of conventional zirconia obtained by the addition of a pigments percentage which changes its color from white to black. The present work shows, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, optical spectra of black ZrO2 in the range 0.3-163 mu m, comparing them to those of a conventional white stoichometric sample. Moreover, preliminary data on the high temperature emittance of black ZrO2 are shown as well. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.