![]() If you try to scratch a quartz with a sapphire, the quartz will be damaged. ![]() If you attempt to scratch a diamond with a sapphire, for example, the sapphire will be damaged. At a scientific level, this depends on the spacing between the atomic layers and the crystal structure. Hardness refers to the ability of a material to resist scratching and abrasion when a sharp fragment of another substance is passed over its surface with sufficient pressure. This understanding can be useful when facing any sort of challenge in business-whether you’re wondering if a ruby can go into the ultrasonic, if a pearl can go into the acetone, or if you’re questioning whether or not Ethiopian white opal is stable.ĭid you ever stop to wonder why a diamond is the hardest stone of all, but can still break in two with a well-placed hit? Well, wonder no more! What follows is a textbook overview of the gem world’s “trio of durability.” Hardness 1.45-carat natural zircon. Each of these attributes has its own importance in the jewellery business (pun intended). Indeed, there are three distinct factors one should consider when discussing this subject: hardness, tenacity, and stability. After all, once you have the Mohs scale down to a science, what other use could this knowledge bring to your business? We understand diamond is 10, corundum is 9, and the rest follow as easily as a fish downstream (or, I suppose, a pearl in an oyster).Īs it turns out, there is a world of information and misconceptions behind gemstones’ durability. One rarely wonders if there is more to the hardness of gemstones beyond what is at face value. After cleaning, pat dry with a soft towel or chamois cloth.By Lauriane Lognay Montana sapphire, scratching the surface of an onyx. Clean with gentle soap and lukewarm water, scrubbing behind the gem with a very soft toothbrush as necessary. Always store Pink Topaz carefully to avoid scuffs and scratches. One of the world’s hardest gemstones (Mohs’ Hardness: 8), Pink Topaz is a good choice for everyday jewelry. The huge amount of water necessary for mining operations is drawn from a nearby lake. Bulldozers are used to open the pits, and most initial sorting uses German-made hydraulic sluices and sieves, with some final sorting done by hand. ![]() The mine currently employs approximately 50 workers and is highly mechanized. Mined directly from host rock, Mina do Capão is an open pit operation with two large pits, each carved over 70 meters into the hillside. Understandable given its rarity and value, Pink Topaz is often cut to maximize rough yield, making calibrated gems suitable for jewelry exceedingly rare. Open since the early 19 th century, Mino do Capão only yields 12 kilograms of gem rough annually international competition for a limited supply keeps prices high. Our Pink Topaz comes exclusively from a single mine, Mino do Capão (Portuguese: Big Lid Mine), located in the middle of the 290 square-kilometer Topaz deposit near the town of Ouro Preto. While Topaz is found in Burma, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, USA and the Ukraine, the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (English: General Mines) remains the premier source. With advances in modern enhancements, today’s gem market has a multitude of color choices for Topaz. Topaz’s blues, yellows and browns are the result of color centers, its reds and pinks are caused by chromium and its oranges are the result of chromium and/or color centers. Coming in a diverse array of gorgeous colors, Topaz has a unique crystal structure that makes it a hard and dense gemstone.
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