The Hardest Gemstones As Choices For Your Daily Wear Jewellery
Gemstones have been around for millennia as they continue to fascinate people from around the world with their beauty. However, aside from their sparkle and beautiful colours, what people don’t realise that almost all gemstones in the world are minerals, which means that they are quite tough. Well most of them, anyway, according to the best wholesale gemstone dealers in the country. Their hardness is a property that defines how easy or difficult it is to scratch their surface, which determines how they will perform in everyday life.
Gemstones, like many other naturally occurring minerals, are ranked on the Mohs scale of hardness, which is an exponential scale that determines how resistant an element is to scratching. This blog details the most common gemstones and arranges them in increasing order of hardness so you can determine whether they are fit for everyday use or not.
Hardest Gemstones For Everyday Jewellery
Emerald
The fascinating green gemstone, Emeralds have been loved as a contrasting jewel in our jewellery. With a deep green hue that is mesmerizing to look at, Emeralds have a Mohs hardness of only 7.5, which is characteristic of the beryl family of minerals. While it is harder than everyday items like steel and aluminium, it is still comparatively easy to scratch by other gemstones that are harder than itself.
Aquamarine
Another member of the beryl family, Aquamarines have a quaint blue colour that is often related to the beauty of the sea. It was seen as a way of protection from violent seas, and thus was taken to voyages by soldiers. Falling in between the Mohs hardness of 7.5 to 8 are slightly tougher than emeralds, but still not as scratch resistant as you expect them to be. They are good for special occasions, not for everyday use.
Sapphire
Relatively hard and known as the gemstone of the Royals, Sapphire gathers a tough 9 on the Mohs scale of Hardness. Alongside this scratch resistance, Sapphires are also very highly resistant to cleavage, which is breaking struck hard. Owing to this, Sapphires have been amongst the top choices for engagement rings as they are highly durable and extremely beautiful because of their royal blue colour.
Rubies
Truly the king of all gemstones, Rubies are from the same family of minerals as Sapphires, that is corundum. This means that they share the same properties as Sapphires when it comes to scratch resistance, cleavage resistance, and hardness, which is again at a level 9. It is a favourite of gemstone distributors in India because of its rarity and beautiful red hue. It is, again, a popular choice for engagement rings and necklaces.
Diamonds
The hardest substance known to man, diamonds are the reference point for the entire Mohs Scale of hardness. It scores a perfect 10 on the scale, which means it is more scratch-resistant than rubies. But exactly how much? 43 times more. The only thing that can scratch a diamond is only another diamond. It is the most popular choice for engagement rings as it is the hardest gemstone known to man and can handle pretty much everything in your daily life.
Hardness is an important factor when you consider how all gemstones are given a polished look to make them more appealing. To prevent them from damage and from losing their shine, it is important that these gemstones can resist scratches, which is what defines their hardness.
