Jewellers’ quick reference guide to working with gemstones

Jewellers, have you ever experienced that heart-stopping moment when you've accidently damaged a gemstone?

As a gemmologist & jeweller, I understand the frustration & potential loss when a precious stone suffers damage. This guide is specifically designed for jewellers, offering valuable gemmological information to help prevent these costly mishaps.

Keep this guide on your bench as a quick reference when designing, setting or working on any piece of jewellery. 

Covering a wide range of gemstones, from common amethyst to rarer sillimanite, this resource provides crucial information on each stone's durability. You'll learn:

• Resistance to common workshop hazards: Will it survive contact with files, abrasive wheels or the pickle pot?

• Suitability for various treatments: Can it withstand resizing, repairing, polishing or ultrasonic cleaning?

• Specific care considerations: Understand the potential risks of steam cleaning, barrel polishing & other common workshop practices.

This guide provides jewellers with the knowledge to protect gemstones & minimize costly mistakes.

So, before you throw that gem-set piece of jewellery into the barrel polisher or ultrasonic cleaner or light the torch to resize that ruby ring why not double check if there might be a reason not to…