Buying jewelry to add to your collection can be troublesome especially when there are a lot of styles and variations to choose from. To complicate things further, there are numerous myths that surround jewelry, making the decision even more difficult. How will you know what to avoid? What are the jewelry myths that you can ignore?
Below are some of the most common myths about jewelry and the real truth behind them:
Diamonds Cannot Be Destroyed
This myth has been around for centuries. Since one characteristic of a diamond is durability, which makes it great for jewelry that gets a lot of wear and tear, it is easy for someone to believe that the diamonds are indestructible. So, to make things clear, diamonds are one of the hardest materials known but it does not mean that they cannot be cracked, damaged, or destroyed. As a matter of fact, rubies and sapphires which rank a lot lower on Mohs scale of toughness are less likely to get damaged compared to diamonds.
Biting Gold
For the past few centuries, it has been assumed that biting gold will help you determine if it is legit or a fake one. Although it is a fact that gold is softer than the human teeth and should show teeth marks when bitten, the myth is wrong.
One reason that this myth is busted is because there are a lot of soft metals including silver and lead which could be simply coated in gold and would pass the “biting test”. Further proof that this myth is incorrect is the existence of rose gold and white gold. These are certified alloys which are usually placed to coat yellow gold. They are considered legitimate gold but due to different metals added to the alloy, it will not pass the “biting test”. Thus, biting gold materials is not a proper method to identify the legitimacy of gold.
Colors of Gold
If you have ever shopped for jewelry, you might have noticed that gold comes in a few different colors. Because of this, rumors have emerged that gold can be discovered in various colors just like gems. This is a false belief. Gold is only mined as yellow in color. All other variations of gold are a result of combining it with other metals. For example, white gold can be achieved by mixing gold, nickel, and palladium which is then applied on top of yellow gold. White gold comes in different variations, which make it affordable.
Pearls Break Down
They do, actually. Pearls can be crushed, but if you place them in vinegar they will start to dissolve. This is a slow process and usually does so over the course of several days. According to historical accounts (not necessarily accurate accounts), Cleopatra placed pearls into vinegar for a night of fine food and drinking. She and her guests were supposedly drinking the pearls during the party. This couldn’t have actually happened because of the amount of time it takes for pearls to dissolve. Recently, cleaning with vinegar has become a popular trend, but it is not a good idea for pearls.
The Birthstones Originated From Israel’s Tribes
Myths sometimes have some truth behind them. During the ancient times, breastplates usually worn by Jewish High Priests inside the temple were made up of 12 gemstones which represent 12 tribes. This is where the idea of having the gemstones represent each month originated. But that is all the truth to the myth.
The stones were not chosen to correspond with every month for a particular reason. The stones were just randomly picked to represent every month in the impact of the arrival of precious gem traders in Poland during the 19th Century. It was only during the start of the 20th Century that the contemporary list of birthstones became a trend. Up to this date, the gemstones and the months they symbolize have not changed at all.
Images from Julia Willets by Debora Barnaba – See the full story here
