Every Way to Destroy a Gemstone — Even DIAMOND Cracks

A diamond is the hardest mineral on earth. But a single knock against a granite countertop can crack one in half. Meanwhile, nephrite jade sits at a 6 on the Mohs hardness scale, and ancient civilizations used it for war hammers because nothing they had could shatter it. This video ranks 8 ways gemstones get damaged, degraded, and destroyed, from minor UV fading to catastrophic impact shattering. The central finding: Mohs hardness measures scratch resistance only. Fracture toughness is what determines whether a stone survives daily wear. And the toughness rankings contradict almost everything the jewelry industry puts on display cards. Ranked in this video: light damage, water damage, chemical attack, abrasion, thermal shock, professional cleaning disasters, cleavage fractures, catastrophic impact and the fracture toughness data that rewrites the hardness scale. Data and sources referenced: GIA fracture toughness research data Kennon Young, Vermont Gem Lab (durability rating methodology) Antony Zagoritis, GIA Graduate Gemologist and ICA Ambassador to Kenya Mark Schneider, gemologist (documented diamond impact failures) Raw Carat breaks down jewelry and gemstones with real data, not marketing. New video every other day. #gemstones #jewelry #rawcarat #diamonds #mohs #gemstonedurability #jade