Gemstone Colour & Hardness Guide | Utopian Creations
The Gem Atlas
Every gemstone is a trade-off between colour, character and how it handles daily life on a hand. Explore stones by the colour that draws you, by hardness, or let us narrow it down — then open any stone for the honest wearing notes we’d give you at the bench.
What hardness means
The Mohs scale measures resistance to scratching, from talc at 1 to diamond at 10. It’s the single best predictor of how a stone’s polish will look after years on a hand — because ordinary household dust contains quartz, which sits at 7.
Hardness isn’t toughness
Scratch resistance and knock resistance are different things. Topaz and tanzanite are reasonably hard but cleave along internal planes; emerald is hard but nearly always included. A protective setting solves what hardness alone can’t.
Answer both questions and your shortlist will appear here.
Guidance in this atlas is general in nature — individual stones vary, and the right choice always depends on the setting and the wearer. Our loose stone library carries full details, dimensions and treatment disclosure for every gem we hold.