So why do we see the diamond as eternal? And why do we consider some gems as precious and some as semi-precious? It doesn’t only have to do with beauty or rarity, for the most part, it has to do with durability.
Mohs Scale of Hardness
Created in 1812 by the German geoligist and mineroligist, Friederich Mohs, the Mohs Scale of Hardness is a scale of 1 to 10; with 10 being the hardest. Each material will visibly scratch those with a lower hardness, and be scratched by those with a higher hardness. This article covers a lot of ground on hardness testing.
The hardness of a gemstone contributes greatly to the degree to which a gem will show wear, which is often referred to as “wearability”. A 7 or higher on the Mohs scale usually indicates a gem is hard enough for normal jewelry use. This article provides more information about gemstone hardness, wearability factors and jewellery.
