Sheri L

“Diamonds Are Forever” is the seventh in the series of James Bond spy movies, as well as Shirley Bassey’s title song, inspired by Ian Fleming’s novel of the same name. The song emphasizes that diamonds last “forever and ever” and “when love is gone, they’ll luster on.” Diamond is the world’s hardest natural material and diamonds are the most durable and ever-lasting material on Earth, so, yes, diamonds really are forever thanks to their durability. .

Durability is stability, hardness and toughness

A gemstone’s durability is its degree of stability, hardness and toughness. Toughness relates to chipping and breaking, while hardness has to do with scratching. Stability refers to how well the gemstone resists light, chemicals and heat. Diamonds have excellent stability and hardness as well as good toughness so this all adds up to incredible durability.
Stability – Diamond is used in the electrical industry and in engineering drill bits because of its high resistance to heat, light and chemicals. Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) is technology that allows synthetic diamond to be fabricated, either in thin or thick sheets, due to a gaseous chemical reaction.
Although diamonds are highly resistant to most chemicals, bleach should not be used to clean diamonds. Diamonds are often cleaned with a mixture of ammonia and water or a diamond cleaner and soft-bristled brush. Diamond has an extremely high melting point of 3,820 degrees Kelvin. It is the best heat conductor of all natural elements, due to its high lattice density. Lattice density refers to the amount of atoms per unit of volume. As atoms are denser in diamond than in any other natural material, diamond is also the hardest of all natural materials.

Hardness – Diamond measures a perfect ten on the Mohs
scale. The Mohs scale is named after Friedrich Mohs, a German mineralogist, and it tests hardness by how easily a mineral can be scratched. Talc has a score of only one to diamond’s ten.
Softer minerals cannot scratch harder minerals. Diamond is so hard that the next hardest mineral on the Mohs scale, corundum – which is sapphire and ruby, is four times softer than diamond. The hardness of diamonds makes them perfect for wearing as jewelry as they are not easily scratched. Since diamonds can scratch other diamonds, however, diamond jewelry pieces should be kept separate in a jewelry box.

Toughness – Ruby, sapphire and alexandrite are all tougher gemstones than diamond, but diamond is still very tough. A diamond will usually only break if it is dropped on a hard surface or hit with a blow that splits its four-way cleavage. Cleavage is a straight, clean crack in a gemstone.
Feathery cracks on the top of a diamond may cause easier breakage and diamonds with these types of surface cracks are not very durable. A good quality cut diamond has its girdle, or outer rim, left thick enough to prevent chipping. The pointed end of a diamond is called a cutlet and if the cutlet is too pointed, breakage could occur during the setting process.

Tom B

The best piece of jewelry is nothing but a chunk of metal or rock without its partner, light. Its beauty depends on the ability to reflect light, turning it into glitter and fire. The enemy of such beauty is dirt, because dirt swallows light. Taking steps to keep your fine pieces clean and pristine will pay you back in brilliance.

The first consideration in maintaining the beauty of your treasures is storing them properly. Some people (i.e., my wife) store their chains in a tangle, like snakes in a pit. Smooth planes of gold reflect light; when those planes are scratched as the pieces rub against one another, the gold becomes dull. Ideally, chains and necklaces are best stored hanging, to allow them to retain their shape.

Jeweled rings also deserve their own space, whether in a soft-lined slot in your jewelry box (you do have a good jewelry box, don’t you?) or in individual boxes or cloth bags. Pearls are especially vulnerable to abrasion, and a jewelry sachet will help keep them at their best.

The second step to maintaining light is to take care as you put on your jewelry. Wait until after you’ve applied your makeup, hair spray, perfume, hand cream, or suntan lotion, and wash your hands before donning your jewelry. Make jewelry the last thing you put on when dressing and first off when you disrobe, to keep them shining.

The third step in keeping the beauty of your collection intact is proper cleaning. You may have had occasion to have a jeweler clean and polish your diamond ring . Remember the surprise you felt when you saw its original gleam return? You can maintain that fire between jeweler visits.

The main enemy to gems such as diamonds, rubies, and sapphires is grease. In fact, rough diamonds are separated from other stones by tumbling them across a grease table, because diamonds stick to grease, and vice versa. Even the oil from your finger is enough to coat your stone and block light.

To clean diamonds, rubies and sapphires, soak them in a mild ammonia solution (1 part ammonia, 10 parts water) for 10 minutes, then gently scrub with a soft brush such as a toothbrush. Be sure to brush the underside of the gem as best you can, too; much of its brilliance depends on the reflection of light off the bottom facets. And, PLEASE, unless you are fond of taking plumbing apart, don’t work over an open sink. I speak from unfortunate experience.

Other clear stones such as topaz, amethyst, citrine, and peridot can be cleaned with a weak solution of liquid dish soap and water, again scrubbing gently with a soft brush, rinsing thoroughly and drying. Emeralds are an exception; because they are so rare, many that are used in jewelry have pits and flaws that are filled with oil. Soap or ammonia can wash away that oil, and diminish their beauty, so limited your cleaning to swipes of a water-moistened cloth.

Translucent or opaque gems such as opals and turquoise should also receive this delicate treatment. Dry-brush away dirt, then gently clean with a soft, damp cloth.

Gold also is best cleaned with a liquid dish soap solution. To clean a chain, stretch a section over the back of your hand until it is taut and brush it link by link. Dirt and grease often hide within the link. Rinse well, pat dry, and finish with a light rubbing of a gold polishing cloth such as those sold in any jewelry store.

Pearls are a different matter; they actually need a bit of oil to maintain their luster. By wearing them against your skin, the little bit of skin oil they pick up suffices. If they have been stored for a long time, though, a very, very light rubbing with a cloth moistened with olive oil will help them regain their sheen. Never immerse pearls in liquid, as dirt will stain the silk string. If they seem dirty, wipe them carefully with a clean, soft cloth. If the pearls slide freely within the strand, or the silk seems discolored, it’s time to have them restrung.

The reason that jewelry looks so amazing in the store is that jewelers understand about light, and every piece in the case is kept scrupulously clean so that the sparkle is maximized. Keep your treasures the same and light will be your friend, too.

Sheri L

Costume jewelry can certainly have its place, especially when the budget is tight. But, eventually we may find ourselves wanting at least some pieces of quality jewelry made of gold, silver, platinum and/or genuine gemstones. Few of us can afford to buy an entire wardrobe of quality jewelry all at once, but most of us can plan for and build a quality jewelry wardrobe gradually over time.

Four Easy Pieces

A good place to start, in building your quality jewelry wardrobe, is with four pieces that co-ordinate well together. It may be a bit “much” to wear all of the pieces at once, of course, but you want to be able to choose different combinations of say, two pieces, that will work well together to accessorize your clothing.

Four starting pieces that tend to work well are a pair of earrings,
a necklace, a bracelet, and a ring . Take special care and effort to find your first quality piece of jewelry as it will set the tone for the pieces to follow. Once you find one quality piece of jewelry that you absolutely love, coordinating the other pieces with it becomes easy.

Buy Only What You Love

As your goal is quality over quantity, buy only the pieces of quality jewelry that you really love and leave those pieces that you merely like aside. You can “fill in” with less expensive costume jewelry until your quality jewelry wardrobe is complete. The idea is to have enduring pieces of jewelry that are your signature pieces, so rushing to buy them even when your budget allows it is not a good idea.

If you seem to be having trouble deciding where to start in finding your perfect pieces of quality jewelry, consider your birthstone, but don’t feel obligated to choose jewelry just because it contains your birthstone. Looking through magazines, jewelry catalogs and jewelry websites is a good way to discover your taste in quality jewelry. Take note of the pieces that you really feel strongly about. Try to figure out what it is about the particular piece that you love.

Shapes, Styles and Sizes that Work

While finding the pieces of jewelry you really love should be your first consideration in building your quality jewelry wardrobe, you also need to find pieces that work with your clothing wardrobe. Chances are that if you really love the jewelry, its shape and style will also work with your favorite pieces of clothing, but you should think about details such as the chain length of a necklace and the size of the pendant so that your signature necklace will suit the outfits you want to wear it with the most.

Once you have four quality pieces of jewelry, you can keep adding gradually to your collection. The types of earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings are nearly endless and you can collect pieces you love for different occasions. For example, you may want small or medium hoop earrings and studs for work and larger hoops
or glamorous chandelier earrings for weekends. Jingling gold bangle bracelets or a charm bracelet may be great for some occasions, while a classic silver cuff or a diamond tennis bracelet may be your dream look for other occasions.