If there’s anything that humans love doing with gemstones, it’s decorating ourselves! With so many gorgeous colors, cuts, and styles to choose from, it's no wonder we’ve been using them forever. That said, many factors play into how sturdy a certain gem will be for jewelry.
Hardness
Hardness is how well a mineral resists being visibly scratched. The most common measurement of scratch resistance is the Mohs scale, with talc as the softest natural mineral (1) and diamond as the hardest (10). Talc can be scratched by everything else, but diamonds can only be scratched by other diamonds.
For rings you plan on wearing daily, gems at hardness 9 or above are ideal since hands get the most action throughout the day. Gemstones softer than this are easy to visibly scratch or chip if struck with enough force, so treat them with caution!...