Scoring 8-8.5 out of 10 on the MOHs scale of hardness, they are durable stones suitable for daily wear. At this hardness the only things that could scratch a spinel are things like masonry drill bits, or stones harder than it, such as diamonds or sapphires. Softer materials such as steel, glass or copper will not be able to scratch it.

Spinels are commonly found in parts of Africa and Asia. Popular sources include Tanzania, Afghanistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Most deposits where sapphires and rubies are found will likely also yield spinels. For centuries before more advanced lab testing became possible, miners would often find it very difficult to distinguish between spinels, sapphires and rubies due to how similar they are in appearance.

Due to its under representation in the market, spinels are a much more affordable option to sapphires. You can get a much larger spinel for the same value as a smaller sapphire. As a result, these stones make for excellent alternative engagement ring stones if you are looking to maximise stone size on a budget.

As coveted as emeralds are for their unique colouring, they are actually very tricky stones to work and live with. As a member of the Beryl mineral family, emeralds are 7-7.5 on the MOHs scale of hardness. Whilst this level of hardness would actually be fine for daily wear, they unfortunately also have the added disadvantage of being brittle by nature, making them much more prone to chipping or breakage. We would only recommend emeralds in a ring if you are prepared to committing to a higher maintenance routine. Emeralds are more suited to occasional pieces, or to be worn in earrings or necklaces where the stone is not expected to come into a lot of wear and tear in daily wear.

Emeralds are prevalent in Colombia, Zambia, Brazil and Russia. Minor deposits are also found in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Australia, and USA.

Unlike other gemstones, emeralds are almost always included. It is extremely rare to find emeralds that are clear and devoid of inclusions. This is a characteristic part of the stone.

Emeralds belong to the beryl mineral family, and their inclusions result from bits of liquids, gas, and other minerals like chromium and vanadium. These inclusions are known as “jardin,” the French word for garden since the inclusions may look like branches or plant roots, but they are also what cause the stone to be that gorgeous green colour.

Since emeralds are so heavily included, about 80-95% of the rough must be cut away to produce a gemstone, thus giving a smaller yield and a bigger price tag. This is why emeralds tend to be more expensive than other coloured stones.

Scoring 8 out of 10 on the MOHs scale of hardness, aquamarines are strong stones perfectly suitable for daily wear.

Brazil is the largest natural source of aquamarines. They can also be found in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. Because aquamarines belong in the Beryl mineral family, the same as emeralds, they tend to be found in the same places that emeralds can be found.

The most prized aquamarines combine high clarity with limpid transparency and blue to slightly greenish blue hues.

Scoring 7.5 on the MOHs hardness scale, tourmalines are not the hardest stones out there, but they would be fine to withstand daily wear and tear, especially if combined with gentle handling. They are not as included and brittle as emeralds, so with proper care and maintenance, a tourmaline ring can last a lifetime.

Brazil is the largest natural source for tourmalines. They can also be found in similar deposits to where emeralds and aquamarines are found.

Paraiba tourmalines found exclusively in Brazil, Mozambique and Nigeria have a distinct, vivid aqua blue / minty green colour. These types of tourmalines are extremely rare and valuable as a result. To put their rarity into perspective, only 1 authentic Paraiba tourmaline is mined for every 10,000 diamonds mined.

Registering only 5.5-6.5 on the MOHs scale of hardness, opals are very soft stones prone to becoming scratched, dented or damaged if worn regularly and without special care or handling. To get the most out of an opal, we recommend that opals are used only in earrings, pendants, or in occasional rings which will see light wearing. Setting them in rub over bezel settings rather than prong settings can also help to protect the stone from daily wear and tear.

Opal contains up to 20% water trapped in its silica structure. Because of this, these soft stones should not be exposed to contact with water, as it can have an adverse effect on the durability and colour of the stone.

More than 90% of the opals on the market come from Australia. Smaller deposits can be found in Mexico, Brazil, and Indonesia.

In grey diamonds, natural inclusions are an important part of the stone’s appeal. They can manifest in different ways in the stone. When many black and white crystals are present they may look like trapped pieces of salt and pepper, giving rise to the popularity of the so called ‘Salt and Pepper diamond’.

Inclusions in grey diamonds can sometimes appear more cloudy or hazy and uniform in appearance. These cloud like inclusions tend to give a more opaque or milky appearance in the stone.

Needle inclusions are fine points or lines within the stone, which can sometimes create very interesting patterns.

The terms ‘cloudy’, ‘icy’, ‘stormy’ are merely words used to describe how the inclusions look in any grey diamond. Perception on how these diamonds look vary so much being that it depends on personal taste, so it’s best not to get too hung up on these terms, but they are useful for us to group similar looking grey diamonds together in an effort to best categorise them when speaking with a client.

Champagne diamonds like any stone can also exhibit visible inclusions. The higher the clarity the more expensive the stone would be in general, so lighter clearer champagne diamonds will fetch a higher price than the slightly darker more included champagne diamonds.

Because grey diamonds are characteristically included by nature, they are not typically sought after for their clarity. Their main charm and unique selling point is the fact that they have inclusions. Some labs may use I1, I2, I3 as terms to denote levels of inclusions in a grey diamond, with I1 being the least included to I3 being much more included, but in general these stones are selected based on how they look and how unique they are from one another.

Different people will prefer different things in a grey diamond, some people prefer seeing large distinctive inclusions in the stone, while others will prefer grey diamonds that look closer to white diamonds. Unlike white diamonds, there is no manual or handbook that dictates what kind of grey diamond is ‘better’ than another. Only you can decide what appeals most to you.

Everybody knows that diamonds are among the hardest minerals known to man. Diamonds score 10 on the MOHs scale of hardness. At this hardness, only another diamond can scratch a diamond. Saying that, it is not an indestructible material. Defining gemstones as durable include two distinct traits, hardness and toughness. These terms are not the same and people are often confused between these two.

Hardness describes how resistant to scratching a material is, while toughness relates to its ability to resist being fractured. Toughness means resistance to breaking, chipping or cracking in general, how well a stone holds up under mechanical stress, such as impact from a fall or knocks.

Even though diamond is the hardest mineral, it can still chip and fracture. Diamond is formed in the cubic crystal system and has 4 perfect cleavage directions. A cleavage direction is the weakness plane in the molecular crystal of a diamond. An experienced diamond cutter will look for the cleavage plane to cleave a big diamond into smaller pieces with as little structural weakness as possible.

The toughness rating of diamond is only ‘good’ while Jadeite Jade and Nephrite Jade is graded as ‘exceptional’. If you struck a diamond and a jade against one another, the diamond would cleave and the jade would only bruise.

Our grey and champagne diamonds are sourced responsibly and ethically from a single mine in Botswana. Our supplier goes direct to the source there, cutting out any middle men, dealing directly with the miners to ensure a fair trade. The faceting and polishing of these diamonds is done in India, before they are delivered to us here in UK.