The hardest gemstones (diamonds, rubies and sapphires) get a rating closer to 10 on the Mohs scale, while the softer gemstones (amber, 

In this week's tutorial, Mike explains how a gemstone's hardness is measured, and why the number on the scale is important for both a lapidary and a

Here is a table of common gemstones and their mohs hardness to give you an idea of how this hardness scale works. ; Diamond picture, mohs hardness 10, brilliant 

MOH"S SCALE OF HARDNESS 10 Diamond 9 Corundum 8 Topaz 7 Quartz 6 Feldspar 5 Apatite 4 Fluorite 3 Calcite 2 Gypsum 1 Talc Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh. Press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection. Opens in a new

1. Gemstone Hardness = resistance to scratches and abrasions. A gemstone's hardness is a good indicator of how well it will resist scratches and abrasions. The Mohs scale is a not a linear scale. Instead it ranks gems on a relative scale based on their scratch hardness, so although corundum (ruby or sapphire) is a 9, a diamond at 10 is many

What is the Mohs Scale ? : The Mohs scale was developed by German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs and is a scale used by gemologists to classify a gem mineral's 

In gemology, gem hardness is measured on a scale known as the Mohs scale, which assigns minerals a value between 1 (softest) and 10 (hardest). This scale was 

What is the scale used to measure the hardness of gemstones? The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was created by the German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs in 1822 to measure the relative hardness or scratch resistance of various minerals. He based it on ten readily available minerals. The hardness of a material is measured by finding the hardest

Mohs Scale Ranking Chart. Diamond is the only mineral with a value of 10, being the hardest mineral. As the graph above shows, there is a large drop from 10 to 9 where the next hardest minerals are categorized (Ruby & Sapphire). However, the graph is not linear, Diamond is actually 3 ½ times harder than Ruby and Sapphire, which in turn are

The Mohs Scale of Hardness Amethyst is a quartz, which ranks at a 7 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness. You can see where it falls on the scale here: Mohs Scale.

Mohs scale is based on whether one of the gemstones could scratch another; the stronger one marks the softer one. The hardness scale is not like stairs, with