The mohs hardness scale starts with talc at 1 being the softest mineral and ending with diamond at 10 being the hardest mineral. In gemology gem hardness is measured on a scale known as the mohs scale which assigns minerals a value between 1 softest and 10 hardest. It is universally used around the world as a way of distinguishing minerals. The higher the number the harder the mineral. 6 5 7 5 mohs.
In an overview of this concept of hardness discover our guide to the mohs scale. It defines hardness in terms of scratch resistance where a harder mineral will scratch a softer one but not vice versa. Mohs hardness scale for gemstones. 7 0 7 5 mohs. Friedrich mohs simply gathered 10 gemstones that represent the most common gemstone families gypsum calcite fluorite apatite orthoclase quartz topaz corundum and diamond and set about scratching them against each other until he was able to develop a hierarchy of scratchability the mohs hardness scale.
Friedrich mohs simply gathered 10 gemstones that represent the most common gemstone families gypsum calcite fluorite apatite orthoclase quartz topaz corundum and diamond and set about scratching them against each other until he was able to develop a hierarchy of scratchability the mohs hardness scale. In an overview of this concept of hardness discover our guide to the mohs scale. The mohs hardness scale starts with talc at 1 being the softest mineral and ending with diamond at 10 being the hardest mineral.
