The most accurate dielectric measurements are made by resonant cavity methods, the circular TM010 type being the simplest and most common. However, an airfilled such cavity at 1 GHz needs to be 250 mm in diameter. There is another problem as well: its limited applicability with very lossy samples, due to a too low Q value. This paper describes the development and properties of a metalized zirconia ceramic cavity for use at about 1 GHz. With its permittivity εⲠ= 30 its diameter becomes 40 mm instead of 150 mm for the airfilled version. Additionally and importantly, the dynamic range of the loss factor εⳠis greatly expanded. The calibration procedure using numerical retromodelling is described and a measurement example of a ternary alcohol mixture is carried out. The accuracy is also estimated.