Hardness in gemstones refers to their resistance to being scratched by another material.
The Mohs hardness scale is a relative measure of a mineral or gemstone’s resistance to being scratched. As a principal tool in gemology, the Mohs scale is important for identifying gemstones and preventing them from becoming damaged.
German mineralogist and geologist, Freidrich Mohs, created the Mohs scale in 1812. At the time, most mineral classification was limited to chemical composition. While ancient scholar, Theophrastus, compared gem hardness first in 300 BC, Mohs created the first official classification list.
Mohs established 10 rankings: 1 as the lowest and 10 as the highest. It was common knowledge that the diamond was the hardest stone in the world, so he used it to represent 10. From there, he gathered 9 more readily available minerals with varied hardness levels to establish each ranking.
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Text rights: (MOHS Hardness Scale, n.d.)
Source: MOHS Hardness Scale. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2025, from https://www.gemrockauctions.com/learn/technical-information-on-gemstones/mohs-hardness-scale-for-gemstones
