Moonstone Rings And Durability
No one can deny that moonstone rings are gorgeous and extremely popular. While it is traditions and customs that drive many jewelry enthusiasts to wear a gold or 925 silver moonstone ring, others are hypnotized by the mysterious shimmer that seems to glide just below the surface of a well cut moonstone. The increased awareness of gemstone properties among gem and jewelry buyers is one of the best things to happen to the jewelry industry. When you buy a moonstone ring you would obviously want it to be pretty and impressive but, a ring that satisfies only these visual criteria might not always be a good buy. No matter whether you choose a silver or gold moonstone ring, a quality jewel is not going to be cheap. And after spending that money, you need to make sure that the jewel will stay in shape and retain it's condition for a fairly long time. In simple terms we would say that your ring should be durable. But keep in mind that, no jewel is durable and long lasting without a bit of care and attention. Let us talk about the ring and the gemstone itself for now, is a moonstone strong enough for regular and daily wear. Do you need to fuss around your moonstone ring a bit too much. Any jewel would call for a certain degree of care when being worn or stored, and surely when being cleaned. An interesting but honest thing about jewelry and gems is that, durability is not always directly proportionate to the price tag that it wears. For example, a 350 U.S$ silver moonstone ring might be easier to maintain and clean as compared to a 3,500 U.S$ emerald ring. The reason why you do not see too many damaged or destroyed emerald rings is that, we tend to take better care of expensive jewelry!
The overall durability of your moonstone ring would not be dependent only on the toughness of the gemstone. The design for moonstone rings needs to take the properties of the gemstone into consideration. The overall design of the ring, the metal (weight) invested to make it, the way in which the gemstone is cut and mounted etc, would all impact the durability of the ring. Good quality moonstone rings need to have a metal weight that is proportional to the dimensions of the jewel. We might tell you that the MAN09 moonstone ring shown above has a metal weight of around 20-25 grams or even a bit more but, another jeweler might be of the opinion that, 10 grams is sufficient to craft a ring with similar looks and gem dimensions. The point is that if you made this silver or gold moonstone ring with similar dimensions but,, reduced the metal weight to half (10 grams), the thickness of the metal mount would be sacrificed. Such a ring would deform or dent at the slightest sign of physical impact. Now take a look at the way in which the center oval moonstone is mounted on the ring, a sturdy partial bezel setting does the job - flimsy prongs or wafer thin bezel sets would not be adequate. To provide such a firm and secure gem mount, you would need to have a good metal weight for the ring. When Kaisilver makes custom jewelry we always inform the buyer that, larger ring sizes or jewelry dimensions would very likely call for an additional gold weight - something that might add a small amount to the price but, is well worth the investment.
***Now some straight talk about moonstone and it's hardness. On the Mohs scale used to measure hardness, diamond reigns supreme with a whole 10 out of 10. Moonstone stands at a modest 6-6.5, neither too soft nor in the hard league as diamonds (10 out of 10) and rubies and sapphires (9 out of 10). Few of us would give up wearing moonstone rings just because of it's moderate hardness, and this is surely the right decision. With a little amount of care, your moonstone ring can keep looking gorgeous for at least a couple of decades. Commonsense would tell you that, the gem should not be struck with physical impact. Play it safe and take off your moonstone ring when you plan to do heavy physical activity - example playing sports, cleaning the house or repairing your car. When you take off your moonstone ring and plan to put it away for a while, store it in a jewelry box or soft padded pouch - do not bundle it with other jewels. This is a good way to store all jewels and not just moonstone rings. You will obviously need to occasionally clean your gold or 925 silver moonstone ring. Make sure that your moonstone ring is never placed in an ultrasound cleaner. If you wish to clean a sterling silver moonstone ring, use a standard silver polish solution, fabric or cream. Follow the instructions that came with the polishing medium and then do what we will be explaining you shortly. You might have a gold or silver moonstone ring, once the silver ring is polished to take off any tarnish that has formed on the metal - the process to clean a gold or 925 silver moonstone ring remains the same. You will need a clean bowl with some plain clean water at room temperature, a soft toothbrush and a little mild liquid soap. Add a few drops of mild soap to a cup full of water poured into the bowl, stir until the soap mixes well into the water. Place your moonstone ring in the soap water for around 3 to 4 minutes. Notice that we said, place the moonstone ring in the water - do not drop the ring into the bowl. Lift the ring after a few minutes and use the soft brush to gently scrub below the gemstone, this is the place where dust and grime normally accumulates. Finally, thoroughly rinse the moonstone ring in plain clean water, you could do this under water running from a tap but, be careful not to allow the ring through drop into the drain.
The above information should lay to rest your worries about moonstone rings and their durability. All natural gems exhibit some physical properties that require to be considered when wearing, cleaning or storing them. Some gems like Kunzite fade over time, opals if exposed for prolonged periods to dry or heated environments can lose their amazing play-of-color ability. Jewelers should ideally educate buyers regarding gem and jewelry properties and buyers, should demand that information from sellers. We are not the only source for moonstone rings but, we take great pride in providing complete gem and jewel information to prospective buyers. If you find this information to be useful, suggest the link to your friends and relatives - it is not very often that you will come across such useful information related to gemstones and jewelry.
Our Moonstone Rings: You can browse through our Moonstone Ring Collection and get an idea of the quality that we provide. Our moonstone rings are custom made in gold or 925 sterling silver with the design of your choice. You can pick your ring from our collection or request for a fully new concept to be developed from your own design idea or image. Both gold and silver moonstone rings are provided with the same quality of craftsmanship and gemstones. While most of our moonstone rings are shown with white moonstone, we can fulfill requests for peach, grey or black (very dark) moonstone rings too. Discuss your requirements with our experts at sales@kaisilver.com we will be glad to help even if you do not plan to buy the ring from us.