Care, Metals & Gemstones
General Care
Metals tarnish by nature, and many factors such as the place you live in like weather and humidity, your PH and how you handle and store your jewelry depend on how fast and how your pieces will tarnish.
After use, wipe any oils with a soft cloth and keep in a dry space and in a sealed bag to store (like a ziploc) and you may put a silica bag inside to keep moisture away (like the one that comes in your new shoes and bags).
Try not to shower, swim, sleep or exercise with your jewelry. Avoid lotions, sunscreen, oils and spraying perfume and hairspray on or near the piece.
Avoid banging your piece on hard surfaces.
Use the pink polishing cloth that came with your order to bring the shine back. Or you can get one here.
Treat your engagement ring with exceptional care! Remember is an investment. You might want to think about insurance
Refer to our gemstone care page to properly take care of your gemstone jewelry.
Metals
Yellow and Rose Gold
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The natural color of gold is a rich, orangy-yellow hue. When combined with various metals to create different karats, its color changes, based on the added metals. Generally, the lower the karat, the lighter the shade of yellow it has. To create rose gold, yellow gold its alloyed with copper and silver.
Karat refers to the unit of measurement of gold purity, it ranges from 0 to 24. We work primarily in 14k and 18k.
When marked as 14k, it means is composed of 58% pure gold and 42% alloyed metals. Gold that is 18k, is composed of 75% pure gold and 25% alloyed metals. -
Solid gold will not tarnish much and will keep its color over time. Keep in mind, the higher the karat the softer it is, gold might show signs of wear with time.
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Avoid banging your piece on hard surfaces and store separately to avoid scratching and tangling.
Do not handle any strong chemicals like bleach, ammonia, or chlorine. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water.
If needed, brush hydrogen peroxide + baking soda, rinse and pat dry.
You can clean your gold pieces on an ultrasonic.
Use a polishing cloth to bring back shine.
Before cleaning, if your jewelry has gemstones in it, refer to our gemstone care.
White Gold
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To create white gold, yellow gold is alloyed with silver, palladium or zinc. Because pure gold is always yellow, white gold still has a very light yellowish tone to it, a rhodium bath is usually given to make it whiter.
Karat refers to the unit of measurement of gold purity, it ranges from 0 to 24. We work primarily in 14k and 18k.
When marked as 14k, it means is composed of 58% pure gold and 42% alloyed metals. Gold that is 18k, is composed of 75% pure gold and 25% alloyed metals. -
Solid gold will not tarnish much and will keep its color, but if it’s rhodium plated, it will lose its plating over time, it can always be replated. Keep in mind, the higher the karat the softer it is, gold might show signs of wear with time.
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Avoid banging your piece on hard surfaces and store separately to avoid scratching and tangling.
Do not handle any strong chemicals like bleach, ammonia, or chlorine. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water.
You can clean your gold pieces on an ultrasonic.
Before cleaning, if your jewelry has gemstones in it, refer to our gemstone care.
Silver
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There’re two types of silver commonly used in jewelry, 925 also called sterling silver and 999 also called fine silver. Sterling silver is 92.5% silver and it’s usually alloyed with copper to make it stronger, fine silver is 99.9% silver and it’s much softer.
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We work with 925 silver as it’s a stronger material but it will naturally tarnish and burnish with daily wear.
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Avoid banging your piece on hard surfaces and store separately to avoid scratching and tangling.
Do not handle any strong chemicals like bleach, ammonia, or chlorine. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water.
To remove tarnish, brush lime + baking soda, rinse, and pat dry.
You can clean your silver pieces on an ultrasonic.
Use a polishing cloth to bring back shine.
Before cleaning, if your jewelry has gemstones in it, refer to our gemstone care.
Finishes
High Polish
Shiny
Satin
Matte
Gemstones
Agate
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Agate is a form of quartz in multiple colors which can be opaque, translucent, with patterns of color, or moss-like inclusions. Every layer in agate forms one layer at a time and it takes millions of years to form. It is one of the most common materials used for hardstone carving and has been recovered at several ancient sites. There are many types of agate depending on its colors and patterns, some of them are fire agate, moss agate, and crazy lace agate.
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Agate is ranked 7-7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s relatively tough, but not as strong as sapphires and diamonds.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, perfumes, alcohol, or ammonia as this could damage the stone.
Do not expose them to extreme heat and extreme sunlight as this can dull and fracture them. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Wipe agate delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Alexandrite
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Alexandrite is one of the rarest gemstones, in part due to its color-change display, that’s why they refer to it as emerald by day, ruby by night. Fine alexandrite is green to bluish green in daylight and red to purplish red in incandescent light. It can also show a cat’s-eye display, two phenomena in one gem. It was first discovered in Russia in the 30’s but fine material is exceptionally rare and valuable, a lot of alexandrite comes from antique jewelry.
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Alexandrite is ranked 8.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means they’re very tough and strong.
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Household chemicals won’t affect the stone, but if you have a treated alexandrite these products might affect it.
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Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. You can clean your alexandrite pieces on an ultrasonic.
Amazonite
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Amazonite is known for its striking blue to green coloration, which is often likened to the hues of the Amazon rainforest, hence its name. Although it is not specifically from the Amazon rainforest, it’s found in various locations around the world like Brazil, Madagascar, the United States, and Canada. It has been used for thousands of years and has been found in ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Mesoamerican archaeological sites. High quality Amazonite gemstones with an intense blue green color are considered more valuable.
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Amazonite is ranked 6-6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means its soft and its internal layers make it susceptible to breakage.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, ammonia, or acids and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Do not expose them to extreme heat and sunlight, this could damage them. -
Clean with a soft makeup brush and warm water. Wipe Amazonite delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic as this might damage treated stones.
Amber
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Amber is one of the few organic gemstones, although it’s not technically a gemstone or mineral, amber is created by the fossilization of tree resins. The resin emerges from the tree to heal itself from abrasion. The youngest amber is at least 16-20 million years old. In ancient times, amber was harvested and used in perfumes with a smoky, sweet, and woody scent. Besides the golden honey color commonly known, amber can be found in burnt red, white, black, and even bluish tones, depending on the plant material it came from.
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Amber is ranked 2-2.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s very soft.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, har spray or even lemons and don’t go into pools with chlorine or showers.
Do not expose them to heat and sunlight, this could discolor them.
Store separate from other stones and jewelry, as this will easily scratch the surface. -
Clean with a soft makeup brush and warm water. Do not use hot water or strong soaps. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Amethyst
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Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. Before the 19th century, it was as expensive as ruby and emerald until Brazil’s large deposits were discovered and became more affordable. Its color ranges from deep to light purple with blue to reddish tones. When amethyst and citrine occur together it’s called ametrine, although rare, Bolivia is the source of this material. One of the most sought after types of amethyst is Siberian amethyst, named after the place where they were first discovered, they’re deeply colored with red and blue tints, Arizona too, mines this type of amethyst. Today, is the most valued quartz variety.
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Amethyst is ranked 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s tough but not as strong as sapphires and diamonds.
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Do not expose them to extreme high heat and steam, intense light, and sudden temperature changes as it can damage the color or cause fracturing.
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Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. You can clean your amethyst pieces on an ultrasonic.
Aquamarine
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Aquamarine means water from the sea or sea water, it comes from the Latin words aqua, meaning water, and marina, meaning of the sea. This mainly light blue gemstone comes from the same Beryl mineral as Emeralds, the deeper the blue color, the more valuable it is. Is mined in Brazil, Nigeria, and at very high elevations in Pakistan, amongst other places. Aquamarine can be found in large sizes, the largest found stone originally weighted around 100lb.
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Aquamarine is ranked 7.5-8 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s relatively tough, but not as strong as sapphires and diamonds.
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Some stones are heath treated to enhance their color. Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, alcohol, or ammonia as this could damage the stone.
Do not expose them to extreme heat as this might damage the stones. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. You can clean your aquamarine pieces on an ultrasonic.
Aventurine
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Aventurine is a form of quartz, its most common color is green, but it can be found in other colors like yellow, orange, brown and silver. It’s characterized by its shimmer, called Aventurescence, which is a speckled glitter from mineral particles. It is known to be carved into vases, bowls, and sculptures in ancient times. It’s believed the name came from the Italian word “a ventura” meaning by chance or luck, story goes a Murano glassmaker by accident created a glimmering glass called avventurino, hence the name aventurine.
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Aventurine is ranked 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s tough, but its glimmering inclusions make it brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, ammonia, or acids and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Do not expose them to extreme heat and sunlight, this could damage them. -
Clean with a soft makeup brush and warm water. Wipe aventurine delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Azurite
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Azurite color ranges from light to dark blue and it’s found in cooper deposits, with time and the right conditions it morphs into malachite. When both minerals are combined is called azurmalachite depicting both, blue and green colors, finding azurite alone is less common. Centuries ago azurite was a popular painters stone to create blue pigments, over time the blue color changed into green due to the presence of malachite, as seen on Raphael’s Madonna and the Child Enthroned with Saints.
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Azurite is ranked 3.5-4 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s very soft and brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, ammonia, or even lemons and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Extreme changes in temperature and exposing them to high heat could crack and discolor them. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm water. Do not use hot water or strong soaps as this can damage them. Wipe azurite delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Citrine
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Citrine is rare in nature, is a variety of quartz, it comes in transparent, pale yellow to brownish oranges, saturated yellow, orange, and reddish tones are the most sought after. In today’s market it’s the yellow to orange most sold gem and most of it is produced by heat treating amethyst and smoky quartz. When amethyst and citrine occur together it’s called ametrine, although rare, Bolivia is the source of this material. Because it can be found in larger sizes, it has been used for carvings and cut into unusual forms.
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Citrine is ranked 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s tough but not as strong as sapphires and diamonds.
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Do not expose them to extreme high heat and steam, intense light, and sudden temperature changes as it can damage the color or cause fracturing.
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Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. You can clean your citrine pieces on an ultrasonic.
Carnelian
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Carnelian can be found in orange, peach, brown or reddish colors, it can be opaque or translucent. Its name comes from the Latin word carneus, which means flesh, referencing to the stone color. Throughout history it was common to engrave carnelian stones to be set in signet and seal rings, the intaglio imprint was left in wax in correspondence or important documents, some engraved examples can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Louvre. A lot of carnelian in the market is heath treated as this enhances the deep orange to red color.
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Carnelian is ranked 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s tough but brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, ammonia, or acids and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Do not expose them to extreme heat and sunlight, this could damage them. -
Clean with a soft makeup brush and warm water. Wipe carnelian delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. You might clean on an ultrasonic but best to avoid it.
Coral
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Corals are not gemstones, they’re organisms under the sea that multiply to create reefs, they take millions of years to form. They exist in a variety of colors such as red, sometimes called ox blood coral, which is the most expensive, white, cream, orange, black, golden, lavender, and pink, sometimes called angel’s skin. They’re timeless, as they have been found in Egyptian tombs and European burials. Overfishing, climate change, pollution and over harvesting have harmed the health of coral reefs, so red and pink coral trade is regulated.
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Coral is ranked 3-4 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s very soft and brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, hair spray or even lemons and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Do not expose them to extreme heat and sunlight, this could damage them. -
Clean with a soft makeup brush and warm water. Do not use hot water or strong soaps or soak them for long periods of time, as this can discolor them. Wipe coral delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Chrysocolla
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Chrysocolla is a blue and green stone found in copper deposits, often mistaken for turquoise due to its similarity in colors. Although not proven, it’s believed it was used as solder by goldsmiths, its name derived from the Greek words, chrysos meaning gold and kola meaning glue. Eilat is a type of chrysocolla found in Eilat, Israel, also known as the King Solomons Stone, because it was believed it was mined in the copper mines of King Solomon.
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Chrysocolla is ranked 2.5-3.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s very soft and brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, ammonia, or even lemons and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Extreme changes in temperature and exposing them to high heat could crack and discolor them. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm water. Do not use hot water or strong soaps as this can discolor them. Wipe Chrysocolla delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Diamond
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Most diamonds were formed more than a billion years ago, they’re composed of pure carbon, just like graphite in pencils, but form under really high temperatures and pressure about 100 miles beneath the earth’s surface, they’re the only gemstone composed of only one mineral. Diamonds are the strongest gemstones and can only be scratched by other diamonds. They’re graded by the 4Cs to determine their price, which are carat, cut, color, and clarity. They exist in yellow, green, blue, pink, brownish tones, these are called fancy color diamonds. It’s believed the diamond trade started in India 2,500 years ago. There’s a star in our universe called Lucy, that’s a 10 billion-trillion-trillion carat diamond.
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Diamonds are ranked 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, this means that it is the hardest mineral to be known.
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Although diamonds are really tough and won’t get damaged easily, avoid household chemicals as this can damage the metals of your jewelry.
Avoid banging your piece at hard surfaces as this will scratch gold and other metals or damage the settings that hold your stone.
Periodically check your settings with a jeweler to make sure your diamonds will stay in place forever. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. You can clean your diamond pieces on an ultrasonic.
Diamond Lab
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Lab grown diamonds have the same optical, chemical, and physical properties as natural diamonds, the only difference is they’re grown in a lab instead of mined from the earth. They appear identical and will require testing with advanced instruments to be identified. They are still graded by the 4Cs, carat, cut, color and clarity and will also be GIA certified. Lab grown diamonds are more affordable, but many people prefer the rarity and uniqueness of natural stones.
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Lab diamonds are ranked 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, this means that it is the hardest mineral to be known.
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Although lab diamonds are really tough and won’t get damaged easily, avoid household chemicals as this can damage the metals of your jewelry.
Avoid banging your piece at hard surfaces as this will scratch gold and other metals or damage the settings that hold your stone.
Periodically check your settings with a jeweler to make sure your lab diamonds will stay in place forever. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. You can clean your lab diamond pieces on an ultrasonic.
Emerald
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The age of the oldest Emerald is from almost 3 billion years ago. The most desirable colors are saturated pure green or bluish green and highly transparent. Emeralds are one of the five cardinal gems, which are gemstones that traditionally have been considered precious above all others. Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl, very light green stones are considered green beryl, but there is always subjectivity on what is considered “too light”. The first emerald mines were in Egypt, and the Incas are known to have used emeralds in their jewelry and religious ceremonies. Some of the major producers of emeralds are Colombia, Zambia, and Brazil.
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Emeralds are ranked 7.5-8 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means they’re relatively tough but brittle.
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Although relatively though, 90% of emeralds in the market are fracture-filled, chemicals like bleach and chlorine in pools, soaps, acids, even lemons will affect this treatment.
Do not expose them to extreme heat and extreme sunlight, it’ll affect filled fractures. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Do not clean emeralds on an ultrasonic.
Garnet
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The best colors on a garnet stone are vivid orange to red and it is also common to find it on very dark reds. Although red garnet is the most common, it can be found in other hues such as pinkish and purplish tones. Green garnets also exist, which are called tsavorite and demantoid, this being the rarest and more valuable. Their name comes from the Latin word Garanatus, meaning seedlike, due to their similarity with pomegranates. It’s known that garnets were carved and set in signet rings to be used to stamp wax, securing important documents in ancient Rome.
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Garnet is ranked 6.5-7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s tough and strong but not as strong as sapphires and diamonds.
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Do not expose them to extreme steam or heat, as this can damage treated stones.
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Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. You can clean your garnet pieces on an ultrasonic.
Jade
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Jade is actually two separate gems: jadeite and nephrite. Their main differences are, jadeite can be polished to a higher luster, and the highest quality it’s found in Myanmar, while nephrite jade is a stronger material, and is found across the world. It comes in shades of green, yellow, orange, white, gray, black, brown, and lavender. The most valuable type is imperial jade which has a deep green and almost transparent appearance. Around the world in Mesoamerican civilizations as well as in China, Stone Age workers used it as weapons, tools, ornaments, carvings, and ritual objects.
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Jade is ranked 6.5-7 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s tough but not as strong as sapphires and diamonds.
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Do not handle any strong household chemicals like bleach, alcohol, acids, or ammonia as this could damage the stone.
Do not expose them to fire or extreme heat as it can harm it. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. If not treated you can clean your jade piece on an ultrasonic.
Jasper
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It’s usually an opaque quartz stone in red, yellow, brown, or green, and sometimes blue and is commonly carved into vases, sculptures, and boxes. It’s varied pattern its due to the buildup of sediments, minerals, and volcanic ash while forming and there’s many types of jasper such as bloodstone, lemon, dalmatian, Picasso, poppy, Leopard, and others. Throughout ancient times, this gem was a favorite, as its name can be traced across various languages, including Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Assyrian, Greek, and Latin.
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Jasper is ranked 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s relatively hard.
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Do not expose them to high heat and sudden temperature changes as it can alter the color or break.
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Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Do not clean jasper on an ultrasonic.
Labradorite
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The labradorite name comes from the province where it was found, in Labrador, Canada. Inuits used to call it "fire stone" as they thought it was frozen fire from the Aurora Borealis. Labradorite can be found translucent and opaque in blue, green, and gold colors with schiller display, which is a glimmer effect of light bouncing from its internal layers and aventurescence, which is a speckled glitter from mineral particles. When labradorite is milky white with an iridescent glow is called rainbow moonstone, not to be confused with moonstone, although it’s in the same mineral group as moonstone, and sunstone.
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Labradorite is ranked 6-6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means its soft and its internal layers make it susceptible to breakage.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, ammonia, or acids and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Do not expose them to extreme heat and sunlight, this could damage them. -
Clean with a soft makeup brush and warm water. Wipe labradorite delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Lapis Lazuli
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Lapis lazuli’s most prized color is a uniform saturated deep blue, mostly found in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan. The glittery effect on lapis lazuli are golden flecks of pyrite which make it unique, sometimes it’ll have white streaks from calcite, and it’s also found in other shades of blue. Master artists grinded this stone to create the color ultramarine, which is seen in artworks from the Renaissance like the Sistine Chapel, Cleopatra used ground lapis lazuli as eyeshadow. Mesoamerican civilizations like the Inca traded and carved this stone.
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Lapis Lazuli is ranked 5-6 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means its toughness is fair but it’s brittle.
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Do not handle any strong household chemicals like bleach, solvents, acetone, alcohol, acids, lemon, or ammonia as this could damage the stone.
Do not expose them to high heat, hot water, or steam as this can damage the stone. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Larimar
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Larimar was formed by underwater volcanic activity and is only found in a remote mountainous region in the Dominican Republic. It emerges from heated gas pushing solidified minerals upwards within volcanic channels. The more sought after stones are dark blue and translucent, but stones with cloud-like patterns, resembling the Caribbean sea, make them unique and beautiful. It was first discovered in 1916 but it wasn’t until the 70’s that it was rediscovered and commercialized.
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Larimar is ranked 4.5-5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s soft and brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, or even lemons and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Extreme changes in temperature and exposing them to high heat could crack and discolor them. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm water. Do not use hot water or strong soaps as this can discolor them. Wipe Larimar delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Malachite
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Malachite is the oldest mineral used to create green pigments, it was ground into a fine powder and used in Egyptian tombs and European and Chinese paintings. Malachite is found in cooper deposits, and often alongside azurite, with its banded pattern, is always green, with a variation in color from light to dark hues. Is commonly carved into sculptures and vases, the Winter Palace in St Petersburg Russia has a room filled with columns, large vases and tables built with malachite.
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Malachite is ranked 3.5-4 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s very soft and brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, ammonia, or even lemons and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Extreme changes in temperature and exposing them to high heat could crack and discolor them. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm water. Do not use hot water or strong soaps as this can damage them. Wipe malachite delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Moonstone
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In some cultures, it was believed the stone was created from moonbeams due to its shimmer and glow, this effect is called adularescence, an optical phenomenon of metallic iridescence that occurs when light is reflected between layers of minerals. The blue sheen on moonstone is the most prized. Moonstone was very popular during the Art Nouveau era and the Arts and Crafts Movement; it was a favorite among renowned artists such as René Lalique and Louis Comfort Tiffany.
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Moonstone is ranked 6-6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s not that tough.
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Do not expose them to high heat and sudden temperature changes as it can cause fracturing.
Avoid banging your piece at hard surfaces as this will fracture or crack your stone. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
MOP - Abalone Shell
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Mother of Pearl is not a gemstone, is an organic nacre lining formed inside the shells of oysters and other mollusks like Abalone, the same that produce pearls. The different colors of nacre and its iridescence are a result of the variety of seaweed the organisms feed of, they are mainly found in cold, coastal waters. Some of its colors are a variation of white, gray, silver, blue, green, bronze, pink, brown, and black. It was commonly used as inlay and in ancient Egypt, mother of pearl was used in silver pieces and a variety of objects like furniture and musical instruments as well as used by Native Americans as beads and in jewelry.
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Is ranked 2.5-4.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, it is a tough material but very brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, har spray or even lemons and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Do not expose them to extreme high heat, intense light, and sudden temperature changes as it can damage them.
Store separate from other stones and jewelry, as this will easily scratch the surface. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm water. Wipe delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Obsidian
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Obsidian is a volcanic glass, created when lava from a volcano cools rapidly without time to form crystals, it hardens into glass. It’s found mainly in black, sometimes brown, with gold, silver, blue, violet, or green iridescences. Due to its sharpness, it was used to make knives, arrowheads, spear points and many other tools. There’re different types of obsidian stones, like brown or mahogany, spiderweb, snowflake, rainbow, and fire obsidian. Some of these stones are magnetic due to the presence of metallic minerals like magnetite and hematite in them.
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Obsidian is ranked 5-5.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s not very tough and it’s brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, perfumes, alcohol, or ammonia as this could damage the stone.
Because it’s formed like a crystal, you must be careful of not hitting or banging the piece on hard surfaces as it might crack or ship it. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Wipe obsidian delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Onyx
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Onyx is a type of chalcedony, composed mostly of layers of black and white material. Sardonyx, is composed by layers of red and white material. Onyx was a popular stone for making carved cameos and intaglios, as the layers were used to bring out the contrast of its designs, one layer would serve as the background and the carved layer would serve as the raised surface. Black onyx is very rare and most black onyx in the market is gray chalcedony that has been color treated to create a completely black stone.
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Onyx is ranked 6.5-7 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s relatively tough, but brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, or acids, and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Do not expose them to high heat as this can damage them. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Wipe onyx delicately with a soft cloth after each use. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Opal
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Opals are a mineral with a high content of water in its structure, they were formed when rain seeped down into cervices within the earth and when dried it left silica particles that became opals. They’re known for their rainbow colors called play-of-color, an optical phenomenon when light enters an opal and leaves it in a flash of spectral colors. White body color is the most common, but the rarest is black opal, found in Australia, where over 95% of the world’s opals are found. Fire opal has a yellow, orange, or red body color and it’s found in central Mexico. The Bedouins thought opals fell from the sky during thunderstorms as lighting.
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Opals are ranked 5-6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means they’re very soft and brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, har spray or even lemons and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Extreme changes in temperature and exposing them to high heat could split, crack, and discolor them.
Do not keep opals sealed and in dry spaces for too long, they need moisture form the air and your skin to prevent dehydration and cracking. -
Clean with a soft makeup brush and warm water. Do not use hot water or strong soaps as this can discolor them. Wipe opals delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Pearl
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Pearls are one of the few organic gemstones, although it’s not technically a gemstone or mineral. Pearls are found in oysters and mussels, they can create from 1 to 5 pearls inside their shells, although 1 in every 10,000 wild oysters contain pearls. Almost all pearls in the market are cultured, natural wild pearls are very hard to find and are extremely expensive. Cultured pearls are made by manually inserting an irritant inside a mollusk, after a few years, it’ll be covered in layers of nacre which becomes the pearl. This method was invented by Kokichi Mikimoto in Japan. They come in an array of different shapes, like round, baroque, and button.
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Pearls are ranked 2.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means they’re very soft and brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, har spray or even lemons and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Do not expose them to extreme heat and sunlight for long periods of time, this could split, crack, and discolor them.
Do not keep pearls sealed and in dry spaces for too long, they need moisture form the air and your skin to keep their brilliance and luster. -
Clean with a soft makeup brush and warm water. Do not use hot water or strong soaps as this can discolor them. Wipe pearls delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Peridot
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Peridot is found in meteorites, lava and deep within the earth, it’s one of the oldest gems as some specimens are from 4.5 billion years ago. Its color is yellow green, but the most prized stone is a pure grass green. Peridot is the only gemstone that comes in only one color. In ancient times due to its color, it has been mistaken for emerald as in the Three Holy Kings in Germany’s Cologne Cathedral. The Egyptians called it the gem of the sun. The largest peridot found is at the Smithsonian Museum, weighting 311 carats.
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Peridot is ranked 6.5-7 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means its toughness is fair to good but hard blows could break them.
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Do not handle any strong household chemicals like bleach, solvents, acetone, alcohol, acids or ammonia as this could damage the stone.
Do not expose them to extreme and sudden temperature changes as it can damage the stone. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Rose Quartz
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Rose Quartz gets its name by its color which ranges from light to medium dark pink. Tiny inclusions inside are what gives it it’s cloudy color. Due to its large size is a popular mineral with gem carvers as is used to create decorative objects. Rare transparent material it’s commonly transformed into faceted stones. It can be found in India, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka, but the finest rose quartz comes from Brazil. Ancient Roman, Egyptian, and Greek civilizations used quartz crystals as talismans. It’s thought that the first to use this stone were the Assyrians, and the Romans.
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Rose Quartz is ranked 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s tough but not as strong as sapphires and diamonds.
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Although very stable it’s always a good idea to keep your gemstones away from extreme heat and household chemicals.
Avoid banging your piece at hard surfaces as this can fracture your stone. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Rhodochrosite
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One of the largest producers of rhodochrosite is Argentina, the mineral is found in abandoned Incan silver mines, although also found in Colorado, Russia, South Africa, Peru, and Mexico. Mostly in pink and reddish tones and translucent colors, sometimes has been found in its opaque form. It has been carved into decorative and functional objects. Its name comes from the Greek words rhodon meaning rose, and chroma meaning color and it was discovered in 1813 in the silver mines of what today is Romania.
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Rhodochrosite is ranked 3-4 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s very soft and brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, ammonia, or even lemons and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Extreme changes in temperature and exposing them to high heat could crack and discolor them. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm water. Do not use hot water or strong soaps as this can discolor them. Wipe rhodochrosite delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Rosewood
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We’re focusing on a very particular hardwood also known as Mexican Rosewood or Palo de Rosa. Found in Caribbean areas and the southeast of Mexico, it’s a hard, tough, and very strong wood in deep red and purplish-brown hues, richly streaked and grained. Due to these reasons, it became very popular to use native rosewood in jewelry in Taxco, Mexico, in the 30’s-70’s, inlaid with silver or carved into boxes. Due to illegal logging and the exportation to European and Asian countries for the use in furniture and musical instruments, it’s now an endangered tree.
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It’s a very dense and strong wood but it will show signs of wear and will darken with time, as it’s an organic material.
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Don’t shower or swim with your jewelry, don’t handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, hairspray, lotion, ammonia, or acids.
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Clean with a soft makeup brush. Water and body oils will age wood to a darker color. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Ruby
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A ruby is a pink to blood-red gemstone, the variety of colors of this mineral are called sapphires. Rubies are one of the five cardinal gems, which are gemstones that traditionally have been considered precious above all others. Its name comes from the Sanskrit, ratnaraj, meaning the king of gems. Mogok, in Myanmar, is known as The Valley of Rubies, where most important rubies have been found. It’s believed that in Burma, warriors would insert rubies in their skin as they believed would make them invincible. The fluorescent light created by a ruby helped make the first laser in the 60’s.
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Rubies are ranked 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means they’re very tough and strong.
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Although very though, many rubies are color enhanced or cavity filled, chemicals like bleach and chlorine in pools, soaps, acids, even lemons will affect these treatments.
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Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. You can clean your ruby pieces on an ultrasonic.
Sapphire
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Sapphire gemstones come in a variety of colors depending on the trace elements in their structure. Typically blue, natural sapphires can come in pink, yellow, purple, orange, green, colorless, and even black. They are second only to diamonds in durability. When its color is red, it’s called a ruby. A rare sought after sapphire is the Padparadscha sapphire, they’re an orangy pink color found mainly in Sri Lanka, it means lotus flower in sanskirt. Another rare specimen is the Kashmir Sapphire, its color sets the standard for blue stones, and it’s found in the Himalaya Mountains.
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Sapphires are ranked 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means they’re very tough and strong.
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Although very though, many sapphires are color enhanced or cavity filled, chemicals like bleach and chlorine in pools, soaps, acids, even lemons will affect these treatments.
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Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. You can clean your sapphire pieces on an ultrasonic.
Serpentine
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The name serpentine was given because of the scaly pattern and serpent colors: green, blue, black, and cream. The word derives from the Latin serpens, meaning snake. Serpentine is actually a large group of minerals, like chrysotile, lizardite and antigorite, it’s not the name of one stone, but to simplify communication they’re commonly called serpentine. It has been used for thousands of years as jewelry and cultural artifacts. In the 60’s it was declared the state rock of California due to its availability in the state, but also found in Russia, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, amongst other places.
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Serpentine is ranked 3-6 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s very soft and brittle.
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Do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, ammonia, or even lemons and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Extreme changes in temperature and exposing them to high heat could crack and discolor them. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm water. Do not use hot water or strong soaps as this can discolor them. Wipe serpentine delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Spinel
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Bright red, cobalt blue, vivid pink, and orange are the most valued colors but are also found in pale pink, lavender and even black. Although less common, spinels form in the same deposits than rubies and have been mistaken for them, many of the famous “rubies” of history were actually spinels. One of the most famous spinels in the world is the Black Prince’s Ruby, in UK’s Imperial Crown. During the Middle Ages, Asian and European rulers engraved their gems to preserve their history, many displayed in museums today.
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Spinel is ranked 8 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s relatively tough.
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Although relatively though, they could be fracture-filled, chemicals like bleach and chlorine in pools, soaps, acids, even lemons will affect this treatment.
Do not expose them to extreme heat and extreme sunlight, it’ll affect filled fractures. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Do not clean jasper on an ultrasonic.
Sunstone
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Sunstone is from the same mineral group as moonstone and labradorite, it’s bodycolor have yellow, orange, and brown tones. It’s characterized by its shimmer, called Aventurescence, which is a speckled glitter from mineral particles. Although found in many parts of the world, a variety with copper inclusions is only found in Oregon, which makes a variety of colors such as pink, red, green and some bicolored or tricolored. The most sought after sunstone colors are deep red and green, and intense bicolors.
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Sunstone is ranked 6.5-7 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s tough, but a hard blow could break them.
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Household chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, acids, and extreme changes in temperature or exposing them to high heat could affect them.
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Clean with a soft makeup brush and warm water. Wipe sunstone delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Tanzanite
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Tanzanite is found in only one place on earth, near Mount Kilimanjaro. Is rarer than diamonds and its pleochroic color is in between a blue, violet, and purple. It was discovered in the 60’s and Tiffany and Co. agreed to be its main distributor as they saw an opportunity to rival expensive sapphires, they named it due to the place where it was discovered, Tanzania. Maasai people gift a Tanzanite stone to a mother right after childbirth.
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Tanzanite is ranked 6-7 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s tough, but a hard blow could break them.
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Household chemicals won’t affect it but beware of strong acids as they could damage the stone.
Extreme changes in temperature and exposing them to high heat could damage them. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Do not clean tanzanite on an ultrasonic.
Tiger’s Eye
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Tiger’s eye is considered a semi-precious variety of quartz, mostly found in brown and golden colors, it displays vertical luminescent bands like a cat's eye, this is called chatoyancy. The main mineral of tiger’s eye is a bluish gray color, when the quartz stone is not completely formed is known as Hawks Eye which has a bluish color. It is believed engraved Tiger's eye was worn by Roman soldiers to protect them in battle.
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Tiger’s eye is ranked 6.5-7 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s tough, but a hard blow could break them.
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Household chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, acids, and extreme changes in temperature or exposing them to high heat could affect them.
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Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. You can clean tiger’s eye on an ultrasonic.
Topaz
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Topaz is found in a variety of colors like brown, green, yellow, orange, pink and colorless which is usually treated into a blue color. It’s also pleochroic, that means that can show different colors in different directions. A rare and sought after stone is the Imperial topaz, a saturated sherry orange and peachy pink color. It’s almost always found with no inclusions, so it’s considered a Type 1 gemstone. Topaz can be found in Brazil, Mexico, China, USA, and Russia.
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Topaz is ranked 8 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means is strong but due to the composition of its structure a hard blow might easily split it.
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Do not expose them to high heat and sudden temperature changes as it can damage the color or cause fracturing.
Avoid banging your piece at hard surfaces as this will fracture or crack your stone. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Tourmaline
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Tourmaline is one of the gems with the widest array of colors, such as clear, blue, green, yellow, brown, pink, red, orange, bicolor, and hues in between, gemmologists now divide tourmalines into 11 different species. Watermelon tourmaline is a sought after gem due to its distinctive green and pink colors resembling a watermelon. Paraiba tourmaline is a rare gemstone in neon-vivid blue colors with greenish tones. The first recorder tourmaline was confused with emerald in Brazil in the 1500’s, many other colored tourmalines in history have been confused with rubies and sapphires.
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Tourmaline is ranked 7-7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s relatively tough, but not as strong as sapphires and diamonds.
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Do not expose them to high heat and sudden temperature changes as it can alter the color or cause fracturing.
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Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Wipe and dry tourmaline with a soft cloth soon after. Do not clean tourmaline on an ultrasonic.
Turquoise
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Turquoise is found in dry and barren regions and was among the first gems to be mined. It’s an opaque blue to green stone, the most sought after hue is a pure sky blue, called robin’s egg blue or Persian blue. Arizona, New Mexico, Mexico, Iran, and Egypt are amongst some of the places where it can be found. It’s a very common material in Pueblo nations, such as Hopi, Zuni, and Dineh. It was an important material in ancient times, the oldest jewelry is made from turquoise and was found in Egyptian tombs and when the emperor of the Aztec empire, Montezuma, saw Cortes, he gave him turquoise as a gift.
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Turquoise is ranked 5-6 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means its toughness is fair but brittle.
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A lot of turquoise is treated for stability, do not handle any chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, hair spray or even lemons and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
Do not expose them to high heat as this can cause discoloration and surface damage. -
Clean with a soft brush and warm soapy water. Wipe and dry turquoise with a soft cloth soon after. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Volcanic Rock
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Volcanic rocks are made from magma, when extremely molten rock from within the earth flows from a volcano and hardens, is a combination of minerals, crystals, gasses, and liquids.
The holes in lava rock are called vesicles, they’re formed when gasses in the magma create bubbles, as it slowly cools down it leaves these open spaces within the rock. Lava cameos from Mt. Vesuvius, in Italy, were popular in the Victorian era, although not strictly made from volcanic rock but from tuff, a rock made from volcanic ash. Unwaxed volcanic rock beads are used in aromatherapy, adding scents to the stones while wearing them. -
Volcanic rock is ranked 3-3.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s brittle due to its porosity.
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Do not handle any strong chemicals like bleach, ammonia, or acids and don’t go into pools with chlorine.
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Clean with a soft makeup brush and warm soapy water or Himalayan salt, be sure to rinse all residue. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.
Zircon
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Zircon is the oldest known mineral on Earth, a 4.4 million year old zircon was discovered in Australia. Blue is the most popular color on this stone but can be found in a variety of colors like red, pink, green, yellow, and colorless. Zircons without color have high refractive indices, giving it a lot of brilliance and color flashes, which is called fire, for centuries this caused confusion between diamonds and zircons. Cloudy zircon was popular in the Victorian era for the use of mourning jewelry. Zircon is not to be confused with zirconia, a man made product.
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Zircon is ranked 6-7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which means it’s tough, but a hard blow could break them.
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A lot of zircons are heat treated so household chemicals like bleach, soaps, perfumes, acids, and extreme changes in temperature or exposing them to high heat could affect them.
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Clean with a soft makeup brush and warm water. Wipe zircon delicately with a soft cloth after each wearing. Don’t clean on an ultrasonic.