Transcript:
In this video, we will discuss the top 4 gemstones for use in engagement rings. An engagement ring goes through more than any other piece of jewelry, constantly being rubbed and bashed against other objects when the wearers go about their day to day activities for a gemstone to survive this lifestyle, it needs to be durable and as each type of gemstone has a different set of durability properties and capabilities, Some gemstones are a better choice for use engagement rings than others. Let’s go straight to the best gemstone for use engagement rings. You may have guessed it. It’s diamonds. A diamond is forever isn’t just an advertisement slogan, it’s kind of true when it comes to wear and tear. No other gem can take the abuse of everyday wear quite like a diamond. Can this is mainly due to a diamonds, hardness and diamonds have a hardness of 10 on the Mohs scale, which is a scale that ranks gems and minerals by their ability to resist scratching on the moon scale hardness. One is talc, 10 is diamonds and other common minerals fall in between this scale is relative with varying distances between each hardness, And you’ll notice that there’s a greater difference between the hardness of 9 and 10 which is sapphire and diamond, none between 1 and 9 which is talc and sapphire, so diamonds are exponentially harder than all other materials in the world around us so much so that nothing else can scratch them. Other than another diamond here is an example of a diamond ring that’s been worn for 18 years now to view any damage. You need to focus on the bright reflections on the different surfaces as it’s here that chips and scratches are most easily seen. This diamond shows little to no damage, which is typical for the wear and tear of diamond as long as diamonds are stored correctly away from other diamonds, Their finish will appear as perfect as the day it was cut forever. They won’t lose their luster or their precision acet. Edges chipping is still possible, but for a gemstone that’s worn on the hand every day. Diamond is by far the best choice now on to the second recommendation for engagement rings, which is the next hardest gemstone in existence. Synthetic masa night, synthetic masa night is an artificial man-made gemstone, which looks similar to diamonds and has a hardness of nine and a porter, making them perfect for use in engagement rings as they wear in a similar fashion to diamonds now. Even though synthetic masa night is on my list of recommendations, it’s more from a material science perspective as they are actually quite expensive for a man-made gem currently retailing around $800 a carat and are those prices. You could get a synthetic man-made diamonds nowadays or secondhand diamond as where they wear so well, you could just pop it into a new setting, and voila, It will look brand-new in third and fourth place for engagement. Ring recommendations are Ruby and sapphire. These both have a. Moh’s hardness of nine as both of these from the same junk family corundum. These are the last two gems. I’d recommend for an engagement ring. But with a caveat, the owner must be aware that this gemstone is much more easily scratched and chipped than a diamond, even though rubies and sapphires are close to Diamond on the Moh’s scale of hardness. They are much softer. I will slowly, but surely afraid with where diamonds are four times harder in regards to absolute hardness, but some tests have shown that sapphires will wear out 5000 times faster than a diamond here are examples of a ruby and a sapphire that have been worn every day as engagement rings for six years and 40 years, respectively. You can see many little chips and abrasions, particularly to the FAFSA edges, especially around that central table factor, as well as a number of scratches across the surface, Both of these rings have been worn every day and a rarely taken off. Let’s talk about other gemstones. I would not recommend gemstones that have a lower hardness than 9 for engagement rings at all as they will just scratch an abrade too readily with where most gemstones used in fine jewelry have a hardness of 28.5 there are no gemstones with a higher hardness than this apart from the four. I’ve already mentioned now. All these other gems do make wonderful dress rings and other pieces of jewelry but are just not so good for a ring That’s worn every day for a very long period of time to show you an example of how these stones might wear here. The tsavorite garnet and diamond ring that has been worn every day for 20 years, garnets have a hardness of 7 to 7.5 and you can see the garnets have very rounded facet edges and dull surfaces in these areas due to abrasion compared with the perfect surfaces of the diamonds beside them. The difference is quite remarkable, even though they’ve been in the same ring and have been exposed to the same environment. Ultimately, the choice is yours. Just be aware of the wearability of different gemstones so that you can make an informed decision that works for your lifestyle and your expectations. Thanks for watching, hit the like button if you found this video helpful and subscribe to the jury advisor channel for more posts on diamonds, gems and jewelry. I hope to see you soon.