Approaching the issue of care and cleaning starts with understanding a gem’s durability. Corundum, for instance, is one of the hardest natural materials on earth.
Both ruby and sapphire score a 9 on the Mohs hardness scale. This means they can scratch almost anything, and no natural gemstone other than diamond can scratch them. In fact, non-gem-quality corundum is often used to cut and polish other colored stones. Emerald is not quite as hard as ruby or sapphire, but it’s still fairly hard, rating a 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale. You can sell the durability of a gemstone, but always remember that toughness can be a concern for some stones. Emerald toughness, for instance, can range from good to poor. So while you can sell durability, don’t oversell it. You should also educate customers about the care and cleaning of their jewelry. Ideally, they should bring their jewelry to you for professional cleaning, but they might not. Protect yourself and explain which care and cleaning methods are safe and which aren’t. As long as rubies and sapphires are not oiled or glass-filled, they can be cleaned with ultrasonic or steam cleaners. Warm, soapy water is safe for cleaning, although strong detergents or vigorous scrubbing can hurt an oiled stone. The widespread use of oiling makes emerald a bigger care-and-cleaning risk than ruby or sapphire. Emeralds should never be subjected to ultra – sonic or steam cleaning. Warm, soapy water is the safest way to clean them. Any detergent should be mild, and gentle rubbing should substitute for scrubbing
- Ruby, emerald, and sapphire are the most important colored stones in the market.
- Emeralds have been mined for thousands of years. Major emerald sources are Colombia, Brazil, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
- Violence, remote locations, and harsh climates make emeralds difficult to mine.
- Glass is an ancient emerald imitation still in use today.
- Most emeralds are treated to improve their apparent clarity.
- It’s important to practice full disclosure and educate your customers about emerald treatments.
- The most prized emerald hues are vivid green and vivid bluish green, neither too dark nor too light.
- Red must be the dominant hue for corundum to be considered ruby.
- Mozambique has become the world’s most important ruby source.
- One of the major challenges facing gemologists is telling natural rubies from lab-grown ones.
- Most natural rubies are heat-treated to improve their color.
- The most valuable ruby colors are red to slightly purplish red with medium to medium-dark tone and vivid saturation.
- Sapphire and ruby both belong to the gem species corundum. Sapphires come in blue and also in a variety of other colors.
- Madagascar is the most significant source of good- to fine quality blue sapphire.
- Sapphire is commonly heat-treated to improve color and sometimes clarity.
- The most valuable blue sapphire colors are velvety, violetish blue to blue with medium to medium-dark tone and strong to vivid saturation.
- Inclusions can prove that a stone is natural and not manmade. It’s important to inform customers about the care and cleaning of their jewelry.
Approaching the issue of care and cleaning starts with understanding a gem’s durability. Corundum, for instance, is one of the hardest natural materials on earth.
Both ruby and sapphire score a 9 on the Mohs hardness scale. This means they can scratch almost anything, and no natural gemstone other than diamond can scratch them. In fact, non-gem-quality corundum is often used to cut and polish other colored stones. Emerald is not quite as hard as ruby or sapphire, but it’s still fairly hard, rating a 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale. You can sell the durability of a gemstone, but always remember that toughness can be a concern for some stones. Emerald toughness, for instance, can range from good to poor. So while you can sell durability, don’t oversell it. You should also educate customers about the care and cleaning of their jewelry. Ideally, they should bring their jewelry to you for professional cleaning, but they might not. Protect yourself and explain which care and cleaning methods are safe and which aren’t. As long as rubies and sapphires are not oiled or glass-filled, they can be cleaned with ultrasonic or steam cleaners. Warm, soapy water is safe for cleaning, although strong detergents or vigorous scrubbing can hurt an oiled stone. The widespread use of oiling makes emerald a bigger care-and-cleaning risk than ruby or sapphire. Emeralds should never be subjected to ultra – sonic or steam cleaning. Warm, soapy water is the safest way to clean them. Any detergent should be mild, and gentle rubbing should substitute for scrubbing
- Ruby, emerald, and sapphire are the most important colored stones in the market.
- Emeralds have been mined for thousands of years. Major emerald sources are Colombia, Brazil, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
- Violence, remote locations, and harsh climates make emeralds difficult to mine.
- Glass is an ancient emerald imitation still in use today.
- Most emeralds are treated to improve their apparent clarity.
- It’s important to practice full disclosure and educate your customers about emerald treatments.
- The most prized emerald hues are vivid green and vivid bluish green, neither too dark nor too light.
- Red must be the dominant hue for corundum to be considered ruby.
- Mozambique has become the world’s most important ruby source.
- One of the major challenges facing gemologists is telling natural rubies from lab-grown ones.
- Most natural rubies are heat-treated to improve their color.
- The most valuable ruby colors are red to slightly purplish red with medium to medium-dark tone and vivid saturation.
- Sapphire and ruby both belong to the gem species corundum. Sapphires come in blue and also in a variety of other colors.
- Madagascar is the most significant source of good- to fine quality blue sapphire.
- Sapphire is commonly heat-treated to improve color and sometimes clarity.
- The most valuable blue sapphire colors are velvety, violetish blue to blue with medium to medium-dark tone and strong to vivid saturation.
- Inclusions can prove that a stone is natural and not manmade. It’s important to inform customers about the care and cleaning of their jewelry.
Approaching the issue of care and cleaning starts with understanding a gem’s durability. Corundum, for instance, is one of the hardest natural materials on earth.
Both ruby and sapphire score a 9 on the Mohs hardness scale. This means they can scratch almost anything, and no natural gemstone other than diamond can scratch them. In fact, non-gem-quality corundum is often used to cut and polish other colored stones. Emerald is not quite as hard as ruby or sapphire, but it’s still fairly hard, rating a 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale. You can sell the durability of a gemstone, but always remember that toughness can be a concern for some stones. Emerald toughness, for instance, can range from good to poor. So while you can sell durability, don’t oversell it. You should also educate customers about the care and cleaning of their jewelry. Ideally, they should bring their jewelry to you for professional cleaning, but they might not. Protect yourself and explain which care and cleaning methods are safe and which aren’t. As long as rubies and sapphires are not oiled or glass-filled, they can be cleaned with ultrasonic or steam cleaners. Warm, soapy water is safe for cleaning, although strong detergents or vigorous scrubbing can hurt an oiled stone. The widespread use of oiling makes emerald a bigger care-and-cleaning risk than ruby or sapphire. Emeralds should never be subjected to ultra – sonic or steam cleaning. Warm, soapy water is the safest way to clean them. Any detergent should be mild, and gentle rubbing should substitute for scrubbing
- Ruby, emerald, and sapphire are the most important colored stones in the market.
- Emeralds have been mined for thousands of years. Major emerald sources are Colombia, Brazil, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
- Violence, remote locations, and harsh climates make emeralds difficult to mine.
- Glass is an ancient emerald imitation still in use today.
- Most emeralds are treated to improve their apparent clarity.
- It’s important to practice full disclosure and educate your customers about emerald treatments.
- The most prized emerald hues are vivid green and vivid bluish green, neither too dark nor too light.
- Red must be the dominant hue for corundum to be considered ruby.
- Mozambique has become the world’s most important ruby source.
- One of the major challenges facing gemologists is telling natural rubies from lab-grown ones.
- Most natural rubies are heat-treated to improve their color.
- The most valuable ruby colors are red to slightly purplish red with medium to medium-dark tone and vivid saturation.
- Sapphire and ruby both belong to the gem species corundum. Sapphires come in blue and also in a variety of other colors.
- Madagascar is the most significant source of good- to fine quality blue sapphire.
- Sapphire is commonly heat-treated to improve color and sometimes clarity.
- The most valuable blue sapphire colors are velvety, violetish blue to blue with medium to medium-dark tone and strong to vivid saturation.
- Inclusions can prove that a stone is natural and not manmade. It’s important to inform customers about the care and cleaning of their jewelry.