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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Any Jewelry, post: 246545, member: 2844&quot;]Here is something on gemstone chipping:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;<b>Gemstone Toughness = resistance to breaking and chipping</b></p><p>The way the atoms of a gem bond together and the strength of these bonds determine a gemstone’s toughness, or how well a gemstone resists breaking and chipping. The toughness scale used in scientific literature is called a fracture toughness scale. The toughness scale measures the work required to separate two surfaces of a crystal along a certain crystallographic plane. Values range from 225,000 for nephrite and 120,000 for jadeite, considered very tough gems, to 600 for corundum, which is not as tough.</p><p>Values for diamond generally range from 5,000 along the stone’s cleavage planes to over 8,000. Even though diamonds are considered tough, they can break more easily in certain directions, and a hard blow can cleave or fracture the gem. Diamonds with extremely thin <a href="http://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/guide-diamond-engagement-ring-terms" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/guide-diamond-engagement-ring-terms" rel="nofollow">girdles</a> and ones with exposed points like those cut as <a href="http://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/purchasing-fancy-shaped-diamonds-holiday-buying-guide" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/purchasing-fancy-shaped-diamonds-holiday-buying-guide" rel="nofollow">pears and marquises</a> are susceptible to breakage or chipping.&quot;</p><p><a href="http://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/more-than-mohs-scale-gem-durability/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/more-than-mohs-scale-gem-durability/" rel="nofollow">http://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/more-than-mohs-scale-gem-durability/</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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