Durability: The Third Main Attribute of gemstones

Gemstones are surrounded by an awe-inspiring ambience of far distant birth and age-long past. They are timeless and never age; to them alone perpetual youth is granted. When we human beings are long dead and gone, diamond engagement rings will still be here to rejoice our descendants with their sparkle and fire. Man—who has hardly discovered any other means of preserving his memory unforgotten for posterity—recognizes in a gemstone the legendary symbol of permanence. Thus the third prerequisite necessary for these illustrious jewels is fulfilled: survival. A survival in inviolable beauty!

This enviable attribute is imparted to gemstones by their crystalline solidity, their great hardness, their inflexible resistance to chemical attack, and the color-fading action of light. They are thus proof against harmful environmental influences which might alter their luster, color, or form. The distinguishing characteristic of hardness protects them from outer damage such as scratches, chafing, and corrosion. Among their peers, they certainly recognize a respectable succession of rank, which was set out in 1812 by the mineralogist Friedrich Mohs and is called, after him, the Mohs hardness scale. Its very general function signifies that each higher diamond rings is able to scratch the lower ones. The ten hardness stages are represented by talc (1), gypsum (2), calcite (3), fluorite (4), apatite (5), feldspar (6), quartz (7), topaz (8), corundum (9), and diamond (10). Hardness is thus a diagnostic property of each stone. It is indirectly related to the chemical structure and directly dependent on the regular arrangement of the atoms. The latter determines the strength of the inner bonding forces (cohesion) and the degree of hardness. In diamond the bond between neighboring identical carbon atoms is extraordinarily strong, and the space packing the tightest possible. Therein lies the reason for the unusually high refractive index and the unsurpassed hardness of this precious stone.

It seems almost insolence that man, with his skill, should dare to attack the extreme hardness of gemstones by giving the rough plain pebbles a facet-rich appearance by cutting, thus waking the slumbering beauty within them to glistening intensity. The art of cutting colored stones, amongst which all gemstones except diamond and agate are included, requires much experience and a high three stone diamond anniversary rings consciousness of responsibility; for it is indeed costly material that must be enhanced. Most rough stones, because of their size or unsuitable form, must first be cut up. For this a metallic circular saw is used, whose edge is 

impregnated with diamond dust. The second process, the grinding, shapes the crude preform chosen after evaluating the rough stone and planning the cut. This is done on a carborundum grinding wheel. After this, the roughly ground stone is cemented on to a dop stick, whose other end is pointed so that during cutting and polishing it can be fitted into the jamb peg. The last and most subtle process is carried out on a faceting lap. The gem stick holding the stone is supported by a jamb peg and set in the correct position by the cutter. Each of the individual angle positions corresponding to the series of facets is selected by fitting the gem stick into the various holes of the jamb peg. Finally, polishing follows on the polishing lap, which is built exactly as is the faceting lap but is provided with a considerably finer abrasive. In cutting and polishing, each gemstone is individually treated, in that the material of the lap, as well as the cutting and polishing powders, must be suited to its cohesion properties. Cutting of gemstones is craft and art at the same time. It requires, above all, an ability to sense the nature of the stone, in order to shape it according to its character and endow it with shining beauty.