Toughness

Toughness: Very poor to fair depending on source and type of opal.
Dealers keep their opals for a period of time to ensure they are not susceptible to crazing, a network of fine cracks.

Toughness
Toughness relates to a material's ability to resist breakage from forceful impact. The toughness of natural diamond has been measured as 3.

Toughness: Good (less so for drusy, than single crystals)
Crystal System: Trigonal
Luster: Vitreous ...

Toughness: How well a gemstone resists breaking and chipping.
Uniformity: The grading system used to denote how well pearls in a piece of jewelry match one another. Uniformity can be excellent to poor.

TOUGHNESS - The ability of a mineral or gemstone to resist breakage (fracturing). Toughness is not the same as the hardness of a stone.
TRANSPARENCY - The ability of a substance to transmit light.

toughness It is the resistance of breakage, powdering or the lack of ability to flatten during repeated pounding.
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Toughness
A term that refers to an item’s resistance to damage or breaking.
Tourmalinated Quartz ...

Diamond Toughness
Within the fields of metallurgy and materials science, the term "toughness" describes the resistance of a given material to fracture when it is stressed or impacted.

Toughness
The obvious toughness of diamonds virtually prevent its from breakage or damage.
High refractive index (i.e. high dispersion of light) ...

Toughness:
poor and brittle; easily chipped and abraded
Refractive Index ...

Toughness of the colored stone, that is its ability to resist cracking, chipping, or breaking, is another factor. The luster and the brilliance of the colored stones too have an impact on how the prices are fixed for colored stones.

Toughness: fair; soft and easily damaged by acid and skin oil.
Color: natural body colors may be pale yellow, white, salmon pink, pale rose red, gunmetal gray, golden brown (bronze), reddish-brown, black.

Toughness - Toughness relates to the ability to resist breakage from falls or impacts. A diamond will shatter if hit with an ordinary hammer. Not to be confused with Hardness which denotes resistance to scratching.
White Diamonds ...

Toughness
This is the ability of a gem to resist the development of fractures (random non-directional breakage) or cleavage (splitting along certain well-defined planes).
Stability
This is the ability of a gem to resist physical or chemical damage.

TOUGHNESS - The opposite of brittleness. It is the ability of a mineral, element, crystal or gemstone to resist breakage (fracturing) when struck. Toughness is not the same as the hardness of a stone.

Toughness
The ability of a stone to resist pressure from impact.

Tourmaline
Tourmaline occurs in more colors or combination of colors than any other gemstone.

Hardness
Toughness
Stability
Specific Gravity
Table of Hardness, Specific Gravity, Refraction Index of Gemstones
The Significance of Durability ...

Tenacity or Toughness:
Tenacity or toughness is the ability of a stone to withstand pressure or impact. It is the resistance to crushing, breaking, or tearing. Minerals which crumble into small pieces or a powder are said to be brittle.

Part of the Chinese' love of jade is its beauty and toughness. But they also ascribe mystical powers to the stone. A circular piece of jade, such as a bangle, is said to possess a protective function.

The two most familiar qualities of durability -- hardness and toughness -- are often misunderstood. Hardness is resistance to scratching or piercing. Toughness is resistance to breakage.

The hardness of this gemstone combined with the toughness makes ruby perfect choice for daily wear.
Sapphire is the sister stone of ruby belonging to the corundum mineral family. Red corundum is called ruby rest all are sapphire.

In prehistoric times, however, it was esteemed rather more for its toughness, which made it an ideal material for weapons and tools. Yet as early as 3000 B.C. jade was known in China as 'yu', the 'royal gem'.

Fortunately this king of gems possesses in addition to its great hardness, considerable toughness, ...

Originally prized for its toughness and used in tools and weapons by prehistoric man, jade has a varied history. This gem has been known as the "royal gem" in China for 5000 years, and it was once valued more than gold by the Mayans and Aztecs.

Legend: In prehistoric times, jade was used in all parts of the world for arms and instruments because of its exceptional toughness.

Rubies are extremely durable due to their hardness and toughness - second after diamond on the Mohs Hardness Scale. Ruby jewellery may be cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner, or it may be steamed.

Although Beryls are very hard stones, the fact that most emeralds are included means their toughness, or resistance to breakage, is classified as poor.

Durability - The durability of a gem depends both on its hardness and "toughness." It may be quite tough but easily scratched, or it may be exceedingly hard but lack toughness because of easy cleavage.

However, while a diamond is the hardest gem, it is only of moderate toughness. Toughness refers to the resistance of the gem to stress, which determines whether or not it will fracture easily.

In prehistoric times, it was esteemed rather more for its toughness and many tools and weapons were made of jade because it’s a rather hard stone that doesn’t break rapidly.

Summer 1938, Toughness of Spinel, p. 174, 1p.
Fall 1943, Identifying Synthetic Spinel, p. 103, 1p.
Summer 1944, Black Star Spinel, p. 150, 4pp.
Summer 1945, Absorption Spectra of Red Spinel, by Anderson, p. 232, 2pp.

Mongolian Spotted Jade, Mongolian White Jade, Phoenix Jade, South African Jade, Spotted Jade, White Jade - A microcrystalline gem variety of jadeite or nephrite (actinolite) with a toughness (resistance to breakage) exceeded only by that of ...

It is easy to confuse durability or toughness with hardness.
A very simple example is to consider a glass ball and a rubber ball. Glass is harder than rubber, but rubber is more durable.

Durable and easy to care for, chalcedony has a hardness of 7 and enviable toughness even when carved in intricate designs. The seal rings worn by ancient Romans are still in fine shape today. Clean with mild dish soap and let dry.

However, hardness (ability to resist scratching) should not be confused with toughness (durability or ability to resist chipping or breaking). Many gems, such as jade, are actually tougher than diamond.

The combined characteristics of hardness, toughness and stability in gemstones; this is one of the deciding factors in gemstone value.
Dutch glass ...

They have great significance in the industrial sectors also due to their toughness. They are used as appropriate cutting and milling instruments. Their industrial utility is further enhanced by the fact that diamonds are excellent abrasives.

Durability describes a diamond's resistance power against scratches and cracks due to wear. The durability of a diamond depends on its hardness, toughness and stability.
Dust ...

Because of this toughness, jades have been used by early civilizations to make knives, axes, tools and weaponry. They are well known for being an effective remedy for kidney ailments.

Softer stones scratch more easily, and some stones are simply too soft for jewelry. Note: Hardness is not the only determination for durability. A gemstone's toughness, stability, and cleavage should also be considered.

Rating a 9 on the Mohs Scale, the ruby is second only to the diamond in toughness. Inclusions are common in natural rubies which do not display cleavage. As July's birthstone, rubies symbolize freedom, divinity, royalty, wisdom, and spirituality.

See also: Color, Hardness, Gemstone, Diamond, Crystal