Know your coloured gems |
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Coloured gems cover a vast range of minerals and mineral groups. Most of us are probably familiar with the carbon, corundum and beryl types; which include diamond, sapphires, rubies and emeralds.
Over the decades the lesser-known minerals have sometimes been rebranded. Famously, in the 1960s, New York jewellers Tiffany & Co., rebranded the mineral Zoisite; renaming it Tanzanite, after the east African state of Tanzania. This name became accepted by the trade generally.
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More recently, TV shopping channels have also rebranded
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1.04ct Oval Tanzanite | |
| gems, which can cause a little confusion. Scientists tend to discourage a multitude of names for the same mineral (understandably) though you’d be surprised how many commercial names there are for different minerals.
Our gem pages will keep to the main mineral groups. With a back ground to their mineral group and advice on how scratch resident they are.
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Can a gem scratch with wear?
Yes. Some gems are more easily damaged than others. Here at SHERRY JEWELLERY, we like to suggest, that if you want a ring for everyday wear, it’s best to choose from the harder mineral types. They encompass a vast array of colours, allowing plenty of choice. Working goldsmiths (when wanting to confirm the durability of a particular stone) will refer to the ‘Mohs scale’.
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| Native cut 1.31ct Fine Ruby |
This is a scale that measures the hardness of a gem and
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| Goes from 1 to 10. 10 being the hardest. Diamonds are at the top of the Mohs scale for hardness (10) and are by far, the best wearing stone. They are available in a variety colours, see our Diamonds for sale page.
The next hardest mineral group is corundum. This is graded at ‘9’ on the hardness scale. Sapphire & ruby fall into this category. Sapphires come in most colours, except red. Once red, they’re classified as Ruby.
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Aquamarine and Emerald fall in to the Beryl group, with a wear characteristic of 7.5 - 8.
Tourmaline or Rubellite, form their own mineral group and have a wear hardness of 7 - 7.5
Amethyst and Citrine are in the same mineral group, Quartz. (Wear hardness of 7)
Tanzanite, at a hardness of 6.5 - 7, still has good wear characteristic, but one has to be a little mindful, if contemplating everyday wear. Peridot, also known as Olivine, has the same hardness as Tanzanite.
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At 5.5 – 6.5 on the scale, opals might be considered a
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Emerald | |
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Little vulnerable for everyday wear on the hand. Pendants, earrings, and brooches can sometimes be more appropriate for delicate types of stones. We’d be happy to help and advise you. The Mohs scale of hardness only really measures hardness and not tensile strength or fracture resistance.
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Already bought a gem?
We have found, when gems are bought, while on holiday for instance, they are more likely to be an impulse buy, rather than a researched purchase. It’s really useful to decide what type of jewellery you want to use a stone for, as it will help you to make the right choice of gem.
‘Is it real?’ Or ‘ did I pay too much?’ Are questions we are often asked, when stones are bought from abroad. It’s straight forward enough to identify and value
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| Aquamarines |
stones for you. We can offer you expert advice on your
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| stone might be set. You’ll often find, (as with diamonds,) there are a number of factors that determine the price of a gem. But as ever, colour, quality and rarity are the main ones. | ||
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We love something different
Here at SHERRY JEWELLERY, we love unusual cuts and colours. If we don’t have what you’re after, in stock, we’d be pleased to seek out something special for you. Of course, some stones have significance to the intended occasion, particularly wedding anniversaries. Pearl for 30years, Ruby for 40 years, Sapphire for 45 years, emerald for 55 years, and diamond 60 years! Let us know what you want and we’ll show you a choice of stones.
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| Bi- coloured tourmaline |
| Gems for sale | |||
