Blue Sapphire Stud Earrings and Side Diamonds

Diamond is crystalline carbon: a single element arranged in a tightly bonded crystal structure. It ranks 10 on the Mohs scale, giving it exceptional resistance to scratching. Hardness is not the same as toughness, however; like any gemstone, diamond can chip or cleave if struck sharply in a vulnerable direction.

Sapphire belongs to the corundum mineral family, a crystalline aluminium oxide. Red corundum is known as ruby, while sapphire appears across a broad palette of other colours. Ranking 9 on the Mohs scale and combining excellent toughness with no cleavage, sapphire is particularly well suited to jewellery designed to be worn often.

White gold is a family of gold alloys rather than a single formula. Pure gold is mixed with white-colored metals to produce a paler color and improve working properties. Many pieces are rhodium plated to create a brighter, harder surface.

Karatage describes gold purity. Fourteen-karat gold contains about 58.3% gold and is commonly marked 585; the remaining alloy varies by formulation. A product’s exact alloy and surface treatment should be verified separately when relevant.