Gemstone Durability

Gemstone Durability: A Cornerstone of Jewellery Success

For jewellers, understanding gemstone durability is not just a matter of technical knowledge; it's a crucial factor in preventing costly mistakes, ensuring customer satisfaction & building a reputation for excellence.

Why is Gemstone Durability So Important?

• Preventing Accidental Damage:

  • Workshop Hazards: Daily tasks like filing, sanding & polishing can easily damage fragile gemstones if not handled with care.

  • Cleaning: Ultrasonic cleaners, steam cleaners & even harsh chemicals can cause irreversible damage to certain stones.  

  • Setting & Repair: The process of setting & repairing jewellery can present numerous risks to the gemstones involved.

• Maintaining Customer Trust:

  • Preventing Loss: Damaged gemstones can lead to significant financial loss for both the jeweller & their customer.

  • Ensuring Quality: Customers expect their jewellery to last. Knowledge of gemstone durability allows jewellers to deliver pieces that withstand the test of time.  

  • Building Reputation: A reputation for meticulous craftsmanship, considered design & careful use of gemstones is essential for attracting & retaining discerning customers.

• Optimizing Workshop Efficiency:

  • Informed Decision-Making: Understanding the limitations of different gemstones allows jewellers to make informed decisions about design, materials & techniques.

  • Avoiding Remakes: By preventing damage upfront, jewellers can avoid costly remakes & rework, saving time & resources.

What is Gemstone Durability?

Gemstone durability refers to a gemstone's resistance to various factors that can cause damage, including:  

• Hardness: A measure of a gemstone's resistance to scratching.  

  • Mohs Scale of Hardness: This scale ranks minerals from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest). Diamonds, with a score of 10, are the hardest natural substance known.  

  • Significance for Jewellers: Harder gemstones are more resistant to daily wear & tear, making them suitable for rings, bracelets & other frequently worn jewellery.  

• Toughness: A measure of a gemstone's resistance to breaking or chipping.  

  • Impact Resistance: Some gemstones, even if hard, may be brittle & prone to fracturing under impact.  

  • Significance for Jewellers: Toughness is crucial for gemstones used in jewellery where settings are prone to impact, such as rings, cufflinks & bracelets.

• Cleavage and Parting:

  • Cleavage: Tendency to break along specific planes within the crystal structure.  

  • Parting: Tendency to break along planes of weakness caused by inclusions or growth irregularities.

  • Significance for Jewellers: Gemstones with pronounced cleavage or parting may be more susceptible to damage during setting & everyday wear.  

• Stability:

  • Chemical Stability: Resistance to acids, alkalis & other chemicals.

  • Thermal Stability: Resistance to changes in temperature.

  • Light Stability: Resistance to fading when exposed to light.  

  • Significance for Jewellers: Understanding a gemstone's stability is crucial for selecting appropriate cleaning methods & avoiding inappropriate exposure to harsh chemicals or extreme temperatures which could damage the stone. It is also important to understand that some gemstones may fade when exposed to strong light & that some treated gemstones may fade when exposed to sunlight.