Jacobs The Jewellers Discusses Gemstones

London, UK -- Premier independent jewellery and watch shop Jacobs the Jewellers (www.jacobsthejewellers.com) has just published a discussion on the hardness of gemstones in a new blog article entitled 'How do you compare the gemstone in jewellery hardness?’.

The article details how 'in order to measure this, the Moh’s scale is used. The scale, invented by the German scientist Moh in 1812, measures from 1-10, 10 being hardest, e.g. a diamond and 1 being softest, e.g. talc. Scratching the surface with a stone of a known hardness, a scelerometer, carries out testing a stone. This is damaging’.

The article relates that ‘in a gemstone jewellery context one should be particularly careful with pearls, tanzanite and emeralds. Sapphires, rubies and diamonds are always a good bet for durability though no material is impervious to sudden accidental shock'.

The article states that ‘on the scale, fingernail has a hardness of 2.5; a copper penny, about 3.5; a knife blade, 5.5; window glass, 6.5; a steel file, 6.5 and that using these ordinary materials of known hardness can help approximate the position of a mineral on the scale’.

Jacobs knowledgeable staff can advise customers more while after reading this article they will also know how to assess the durability.

To read the article, visit www.jacobsthejewellers.com.