Care desk / practical reference
Care advice that starts with the material.
Hardness is not the same as toughness. A pretty stone is not automatically a low-maintenance stone. These pages turn mineral properties into calmer everyday decisions.
Material firstNo universal cleaning rulesAsk before using heat or ultrasound
Four questions before you clean a stone
01 / surface
How hard is it?
Mohs hardness describes scratch resistance, not whether a piece can survive impact.
02 / structure
Does it have cleavage?
Some materials can split along planes even when their surface looks strong.
03 / treatment
Has it been changed?
Dye, coating, heat, filling and assembly can change the care instructions.
Start here
- Quartz family and everyday jewelry care
- Agate, banding and treatment questions
- Amethyst color and light exposure
- How this library separates evidence from symbolism
Terms to learn next
| Term | Plain-English meaning |
|---|---|
| Inclusion | Material enclosed inside a stone, sometimes part of its identity and sometimes a durability concern. |
| Cleavage | A tendency to break along a structured plane. |
| Toughness | Resistance to breaking, chipping or fracturing from impact. |
| Treatment | A human process that changes color, clarity, stability or appearance. |
Care boundary. If a stone is valuable, fractured, treated, glued, coated, doublet, triplet or set in a complex piece, ask a qualified jeweler before using steam, ultrasonic cleaning, chemicals or prolonged soaking.