Gemstone Brittleness And Cleavage

These are Macy’s commercial-grade gemstones - amethyst, garnet, fancy colored sapphires, citrine, ruby, and emerald.

Earrings, necklaces, and bracelets take fewer knocks, but if you splurge on a ring, for durability, you might want to consider a gemstone's brittleness and cleavage, along with its hardness.

Princess Grace's ring

Hardness refers to a gemstone's rating from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest) on Mohs' Hardness Scale, which reflects its resistance to surface scratching. While a diamond rates a 10 for hardness, it's actually a brittle gemstone that, upon impact, will crack more easily than other gemstones.

Queen Camila's ring

Cleavage is the gemstone's grain. Just like with beef or wood, a crystalline structure (meaning its atomic arrangement) is internally symmetrical. Cleavage refers to natural, predictable planes of weakness within a gemstone's structure where its atomic bonds are frail. These are the areas where a crystal is more likely to shatter.

Wallis Simpson's ring

Brittleness describes how easily a stone breaks or chips if struck. All faceted gemstones are considered brittle, yet how brittle they are depends on their cleavage. A gemstone's cleavage is a major factor in its brittleness and significantly lowers its toughness.

Queen Marguritta II's ring

So what is toughness? If a stone has excellent cleavage (like a diamond or topaz), hitting it at the exact right angle along that plane can cause it to split cleanly in two. Toughness describes a gemstone's resistance to breaking, chipping, or cracking when a heavy blow is applied. As it happens, diamonds have perfect cleavage planes in 4 directions, giving them relatively poor toughness. Despite being the hardest stone on Earth, a perfectly placed hit can cause diamonds to split along their planes (i.e., grains) just like a piece of wood.

Queen Victoria's ring

A cutter of gemstones uses this knowledge to determine how to cut a gemstone. Customers can use it to buy safer and more durable gemstones for everyday wear.

Some gemstones, such as sapphires and rubies, have no cleavage. Their tightly packed atomic structures resist breaking, making them far less brittle and giving them much higher toughness over diamonds to wear as daily rings.

Emeralds have imperfect cleavage in one direction (basal cleavage). Their cleavage and natural internal inclusions (jardins) make them brittle and prone to chipping.

Josephine Beauharnais' ring

Tough Gemstones For Daily Rings are:

Corundum (ruby and sapphire), spinel, alexandrite, moissanites, quartz (amethyst, citrine, agate, jasper), jade (both types), garnets, and turquoise.

High Risk Gemstones for Daily Rings include:

Emerald, topaz, tanzanite, moonstone, sunstone, labradorite, kuzite, and diamond.

Queen Maxima’s ring

Still, if you love the higher-risk gemstones and yearn to wear them as everyday rings, you can do so by selecting protective bezel or halo settings; remove them when you work or wash your hands; and (less desirable) only wear them for special occasions. In other words, be mindful and prepared to baby them. 

jardins in an emerald 

Frankly, I think we should never work or wash our hands with soap without removing all our gemstone rings. I keep a ring holder by the kitchen sink and take off my rings whenever cleaning. Jewelry is never cheap, so why take unnecessary risks? You always want to keep gemstones pristine and sparkling! 

 Queen Alexandra (Alix of Denmark), Queen Letizia of Spain, Diana & Catherine of Wales rings

Famous royal engagement rings are featured throughout today's blog, but no one needs to be engaged to wear a ring!

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The Oriental Circlet Tiara

The Oriental Circlet Tiara in the British Royal Collection was created by royal jeweler, Garrard, for Queen Victoria in 1853 under the direction of her beloved husband, Prince Albert, who had a magnificent eye for design. Over Queen Victoria’s reign, Prince Albert designed many jewels for his wife and daughters. The Oriental Circlet Tiara is an Indian-inspired design of lotus flowers and Mughal arches.

Originally it was set in opals with 2,600 diamonds forming a complete circle before it was altered in 1858 to make the small space in the back. When Queen Victoria’s daughter-in-law, Queen Alexandra (Princess Alix of Denmark), inherited the tiara in 1901, she replaced the opals with Burmese rubies that had been given to Queen Victoria in the 1870s by the ruler of Nepal. Queen Alexandra only wore the tiara once in public on a state visit to Germany.

The Oriental Circlet Tiara wasn’t seen again until the reign of King George VI. His Queen Consort, Elizabeth, wore it in 1936 and thereafter on many occasions. It became one of her favorite jewels paired with a gorgeous ruby and diamond neckless and dangling ruby earrings. When Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952 she let the Queen Mother continue wearing the tiara. I can’t help thinking, wow what a huge collection of jewelry the British royal family has, as we can see QE II wears an entirely different ruby necklace and earrings than her mother wore with the tiara. The rubies in both sets are spectacular!

After the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, Queen Elizabeth II only wore The Oriental Circlet Tiara one time ... on a trip to Malta in 2005.

Twenty years later on December 3, 2025, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, stepped out wearing The Oriental Circlet Tiara to the German State Dinner held at Windsor Castle. It was only the 5th tiara from the Royal Collection, Catherine has worn, and she looked dazzling as always.

Photo: Getty. The other photos are everywhere on the web.

Kate, as we Americans affectionately call her, was a tad more understated in the jewelry she paired with The Oriental Circlet Tiara, but I bet Prince William would tell us that Catherine, herself, was the main jewel in the crown that evening!

Oh, I’d love to spend the day with her and maybe she’d be good-hearted enough to show me all of those beautiful tiaras so rich in British history. Let’s pretend she would, then get permission for me to try a few on! Which are your favorites?

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Marie Thèrese of France’s Emerald Tiara

Photo: Wikipedia Commons: I’d love to set this piece of history on my head! If this stunner could talk.

Today I’m featuring a beautiful tiara created for a member of the House of Bourbon who had a sad history. Marie Thèrese Charlotte of France (1778 - 1851) was the oldest and only surviving child of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antionette of France both guillotined when she was 12 years old. After France’s Reign of Terror she was isolated and held prisoner for another 5 years until her release was negotiated. She went to live in exile in Austria, her Habsburg-Lorraine mother’s native country. As France headed towards revolution, Queen Marie Antionette had sent some of her jewelry to Austria for safekeeping, and these pieces were returned to her daughter after she arrived in Vienna.

In 1799 Marie Thèrese was persuaded to enter a political marriage with her cousin, Louis Antoine, the Duke of Angouème so she became the Duchess of Angouème. The Emerald and Diamond Tiara of Marie Thèrese is sometimes called The Duchess of Angouème Emerald Tiara. It was made by jewelers Evrard and Frederic Bapst in 1819 - 1820 using stones from the French Crown Jewels. The tiara features a symmetrical scrolling design with 40 emeralds set in gold and 1,031 diamonds set in silver. Fourteen of the emeralds are large ones!

For a period of time the Bourbon monarchy was restored. Louis XVI’s two younger brothers sat on the throne with Marie Thèrese returning to France, but in 1830 she was forced into exile again. She made the crazy decision to leave her tiara behind. Later it was worn by Empress Eugènie whose husband, Napoleon III, ruled (1852 - 1870) sizing power as Emperor of the French. Eventually they too, were expelled. Empress Eugènie also left the tiara in France for the state.

 

Photo: Instagram

The Emerald and Diamond Tiara of Marie Thèrese along with other French Crown Jewels were then sold at auction in 1887 by France’s Third Republic. An unknown British buyer bought the tiara. It disappeared for awhile before being put on display as a loan in 1982 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. 

In exile Marie Thèrese moved to Prague with her husband’s family, then to Goriza (part of Italy today) and after her husband's death to a Baroque castle just outside of Vienna where she spent her final years quietly (attending Mass, taking walks, reading and sewing). Empress Eugènie lived for the rest of her life in Great Britain as a guest of Queen Victoria. 

Photo: Almy

In 2002 the Louvre Museum purchased the tiara from its anonymous owner, returning it to France. The Angouème Emerald Tiara is now on display in Paris at the Louvre Museum. Home, Sweet Home!

We’re fortunate when royal jewels end up in a museum for us to see them up close.

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My Mom, Germany, And History

I'm a history buff with half German and half English ancestry. But, Ancestry.com informs me that my DNA is not exactly 50/50. With a bit of Scandinavian (Denmark), I'm slightly more English than German, which surprises me because my Mom who was born in Germany, says she is 100% German. Her family lived in Germany without moving for 500 years or longer. So why am I not 50% German? Let's go back in time, shall we?

During the Middle Ages, the monarchs of Europe answered the Popes' calls to fight in the Crusades, and King Richard I of England, from the Plantagenet line, answered the call. At the time England also ruled across the Channel in parts of present-day France.

The following is history along with pure speculation  ...

After fighting in the Third Crusade while sailing home, Richard the Lionheart and 4 attendants were shipwrecked. They tried to cross (Central Europe) the Germanies incognito to return to England only to be recognized and captured by Duke Leopold V of Austria, handed over to Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and held for ransom. 

It took 15 months for Richard's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who ruled as his regent in England, to raise the money to pay for his freedom. My mother's Bavarian town was one of the places of Richard's captivity. Back in the day, when kings were held for ransom, they weren't locked up in a small jail cell but in a Castle befitting their station and allowed to roam within the perimeters of a given territory while being carefully watched by their captors. Under guard they could move around but couldn't leave the boundary. So those merry men might have fraternized with the local maidens of the town, because my mother's town has a mix of German and English ancestry. My mother's nieces and nephews with 2 German parents raised in the town also have some English DNA, as does other residents of her town. There is no record of significant English migration to Southern Germany during the centuries which would also explain the town's ancestry. Is my mother a descendent of either Richard the Lionheart or one of his 4 attendants? We shall never know.

My Mom and I back in the day.

Just for fun (as we can't take this too seriously), do you think Richard I and my Mom have the same nose? She had a cousin named Richard, a popular generational name in Southern Germany. Hmm, how did that name get into the family? A coincidence or not?:) 

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Source: David Attenborough Fans

17 Interesting Facts You Might Not Know About Germany

1. Germany is the most populous country in the European Union, with over 83 million people.

2. Berlin, the capital, is nine times larger than Paris and has more bridges than Venice.

3. Germany is home to the world's largest beer festival, Oktoberfest, held annually in Munich, the capital of Bavaria.

4. The country is famous for its contributions to classical music, being the birthplace of composers like Beethoven, Bach, and Brahms.

5. Germany is known for its extensive autobahn network, with some stretches having no speed limit.

6. The Berlin Wall, which once separated East and West Germany, stood for 28 years and was torn down in 1989.

7. Germany has over 1,500 types of sausages, with bratwurst and currywurst being particularly popular. Also wesswurst.

8. Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria inspired Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Neuschwanstein Castle

9. German is the most widely spoken native language in Europe and is known for its long compound words, such as Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz.

10. Germany has a rich history of innovation and is the birthplace of the printing press, invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century.

11. The country is one of the world's leading automobile
manufacturers, home to brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Volkswagen.

12. Germany is home to more than 20,000 castles, reflecting its medieval history.

13. The Black Forest in southwestern Germany inspired the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.

14. Germans are known for their recycling efforts, boasting one of the highest recycling rates in the world.

15. The country is a federal republic, consisting of 16 states known as Bundesländer.

16. Germany has a strong Christmas market tradition, with Nuremberg and Dresden hosting some of the oldest and most famous markets.

17. It is a member of the Schengen Area, allowing for border free travel between many European countries.

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British people roll their eyes when Americans claim they are related to royalty. Personally I don't care one way or another. In the 21st century, I'm a proud commoner.

What makes history great fun (no pun intended:) is how we are all descendants of Charlemagne. It's ultra cool and simultaneously, nothing special, as it applies to every human with European ancestry. We also have a zillion other 16 times great-grandparents, too many to count! 

Richard I of England lies next to his mother Eleanor. He requested to lie at the feet of his father Henry II at the Abbey of Fontevraud (not captured in the photo) as an act of contrition for rebelling against him. All the bodies buried in the Abbey were destroyed during the French Revolution.

Richard I of England's ancestry traces back to William the Conqueror (his great-great grandfather), who was of Norman French and Viking (Norwegian) ancestry. William's Norman dynasty that ruled England integrated into a broader European landscape, including the Germanies.

Richard I was said to be his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine's favorite son. He had at least one known illegitimate son, Philip of Cognac, who lived into his 30s before disappearing (without legitimate issue) into history.📜 

I love when new artifacts or documents are found or decoded like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the body of Richard III, or the letters of Mary Queen of Scots. A history buff loves when facts emerge to unravel mysteries, as well as, to debunk them!

Alles Liebe zum Muttertag, Mama!

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Marie R. Turner (1900 - 1984) Superintendent of Schools

Marie Turner in her office

Today, I want to highlight a woman whose remarkable life I became aware of in college. She is the ideal of a dedicated educator and public servant. 

The Courier-Journal - Sept 27, 1959

Marie R. Turner started her career as a school teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Breathitt County, Kentucky. She became superintendent of schools in 1931, a position she held for the next 38 years. By trying to improve the schools in an area of the country nestled in Appalachia, Marie, as well as her husband, Judge Erwin Turner, became active in local politics. Marie served 3 terms as chair of the Democratic Party. She worked with Kentucky governors, U.S. senators, and U.S. Presidents to upgrade schools and bring jobs, infrastructure, and training opportunities to rural Eastern Kentucky. Her accomplishments were extraordinary and numerous, especially considering Marie's era when women couldn't get loans or credit cards in their own names, much less hold a job with far-reaching authority. 

Marie Turner (back on the right) with Kentucky Governor Albert "Happy" Chandler (left) and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (center)

Marie Turner took advantage of available federal programs (under The New Deal, The New Frontier, and The Great Society), smartly and efficiently,using federal funds to better the lives of the people whose children she wanted to attend public schools. As she explained, if you want poor children to have an education instead of dropping out of school, you address poverty and isolation. Give them a handup through education, work training, job development, and perhaps help them to get on their feet with hot school lunches and affordable healthcare. A handup is not a handout; the people of Eastern Kentucky were a proud lot, used to hard farm work, and Marie thought the school curriculum needed to meet them where they were with prospects and aspirantes of value to them. Her schools and the rural families benefited from the library system sponsored by the WPA (Work Projects Administration) where books were delivered by a team of women librarians who rode horses and mules to the hollows and mountains where families lived. "If the children couldn't get to the books, the books would get to the children." The Superintendent also visited every school in her district once a year, getting there by whatever means were necessary. Early on, some of the paths were so rugged, it took a day to reach some of the schools.

Marie R. attending a pie and box supper to raise money for school repairs

Sometimes the women of the horse pack libraries were the only members in their families earning a paycheck. Out of Marie's own frustration of being denied a credit card, she founded Citizens Bank, where a woman could get a loan or credit card. 

Marie Turner and Lady Bird Johnson

From the 1930s through 1960s, Marie Turner worked with the Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations, opening a much-needed high school in Jackson, Kentucky (1938) and encouraging Senator Robert F. Kennedy to visit Eastern Kentucky (1968). When Senator Edward M. Kennedy ran for President in 1980, she sat in a wheelchair alongside him at the podium on stage in Louisville's Freehall endorsing his candidacy in Kentucky. Secret service agents flanked the stage, screening the crowd.

Notably, people with shorter careers, looser ties to Eastern Kentucky, and far, far fewer accomplishments serving the public than Superintendent Marie R. Turner have created Wikipedia pages and published memoirs about their "roots," but not her.

Over a lifetime, she worked as an educator who entered politics to make a difference in the lives of her people. Marie R's words matched her deeds. A reminder of what public service means and an inspiration to aim high for the benefit of others ... the everyday people you serve.

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Macy's Black Friday Sales: 5 Lab Grown Gemstones

The last of my Macy's Black Friday gift guides will also discuss whether or not, you should buy lab-grown precious gemstones as jewelry. Regular readers of THE SAVVY SHOPPER already know my answer. Yes! Absolutely and without a doubt, if the price is right. When priced fairly (meaning not inflated) you'll get a lot for your money! 

Lab-grown diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds are as real as natural-grown diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. Lab-grown gemstones are physically, chemically, and optically the same as gemstones that form over billions of years in the Earth's mantle or crust. 

Natural gemstones are more expensive than lab-grown gemstones and tend to fetch a higher price on the resale market primarily because they are in higher demand by the public, but as lab-grown gemstones gain more acceptance ... and now as more retailers are entering the market plus manufacturing methods are getting better and cheaper, this is changing. In fact, the greater acceptance and availability of quality lab-grown diamonds are already lowering the prices of mined diamonds produced in nature.

Under a loupe gemologists and jewelers can tell the difference between natural-grown and lab-grown gemstones, yet both are genuine, authentic, real gemstones because chemically and optically they are the same. Both mined and lab-grown stones are the same chemical elements transformed into various gemstones by enormous heat and pressure. Gemologists can also determine where on earth natural sapphires, rubies, and emeralds were formed, as there are tell-tell signs informing them of a gemstone's origins, so it makes sense they can also tell when a  gemstone is lab-grown.

I sound like a broken record in saying, never think of jewelry as an investment but only as a luxury good with huge markups, things of beauty we love but do not need. Except for high jewelry (the apex of rarity and perfection of cut, carat, color, and clarity) or the estate jewelry of a celebrity, you'll rarely get what you pay for your pieces on the resale market.

The great benefit of buying lab-grown gemstones is customers can get bigger gemstones with higher color grades and few inclusions for far less money. They cost at least 1/3 less than natural stones. Short of a cartel forming, I predict prices will continue to drop.

Whether buying lab-grown or natural gemstones, we still need to ensure we're getting value for a good stone based on cut, carat, color, and clarity. 

For this reason, I'm a big fan of Macy's for mid-priced jewelry that ordinary people can afford, and I'd be over the moon to have any (or all😍) of the five 14k gold large sapphires, rubies, emeralds, or diamond sparklers featured here today. OMG, I live at the right time when huge gemstones can be grown in a lab! Dear Fairy Godmother, gimme!!!!!

Final thought: Black Friday sales come and go. If you miss this one, wait for another promotion to come around. They'll run all season and several times of the year!

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