It has been shown that addition of zirconia is only beneficial for the mechanical properties when zirconia is in tetragonal phase, and that this phase is only present if stabilized zirconia is introduced (with Y2O3 here). When zirconia is in the tetragonal phase, it increases the strength of the material and slow down the growth of alumina grains during sintering. The composition of alumina platelets with tetragonal zirconia gives promising results in terms of fracture properties, and the absence of a glass phase makes it a potential candidate for higher temperature applications, where creep resistance, for example, is often a critical property. Finally, the combination of glass, alumina nanoparticles and tetragonal zirconia allows to reach values of toughness at initiation and strength close to the best nacre-like alumina referenced in the literature but using a simpler shaping process.