To ring or not to ring? A pink tourmaline... Help!

[Simple and Sparkly]

So I made a CS purchase a month ago. It is a gorgeous pink tourmaline that desert rose had on her IG. I wanted a "sunset" inspired stone and this one ticked all the boxes! However, being a complete CS novice, I didn't research enough to realize that tourmaline is not an "everyday" wear . The hardness is 7-7.5. I have never had a stone soft than a sapphire, so I need advice from the experts. If you have worn tourmaline as a ring or have experience with this CS, I'd really appreciate your comments! Here are my questions- I was hoping to make a ring that I would wear frequently (not everyday), but I do wash dishes, cook, clean, and all of those kinds of things while wearing my jewelry. Will that work? I wanted to make a beautiful ring similar to @DorotheaBrooke's spinel. Or do I need to rethink and plan a pendant instead? I wear minimal jewelry, so keeping extras is hard for me. Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[Diamond Girl 21]

That's a beautiful stone! I love tourmaline, but I tend to wear my rings and bracelets on special occasions, out to dinner, etc. My favorite tourmaline ring was purchased 32 years ago, and so far shows no signs of wear or damage.

I prefer rings and bracelets because I get to see them and enjoy them, but I have necklaces and earrings too. It's really up to you.

I don't wear any of my jewelry while doing chores, etc. Everything gets put away when I get home.

Sorry, I don't think I'm being very helpful. Anyway, congratulations on a beautiful stone.

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

Gorgeous tourmaline! Tourmaline is certainly softer than sapphire but not like opal or anything. I say set it in a protective setting and train yourself to take them off when doing chores. Bonus is they will stay sparkling longer too.

 

[icy_jade]

but I do wash dishes, cook, clean, and all of those kinds of things while wearing my jewelry. Will that work?

Not for tourmaline. To be honest, will not advise for sapphires or rubies too. Maybe only diamonds but even then I wince at the thought of the ‘abuse’ (imagine hitting the rings against dishes while washing and ouch for the stones...) or simply dirt/grime your rings will go through when washing dishes.

Agree with @Mrs_Strizzle If you take your rings off while doing chores, then you can pretty much wear anything. If not, maybe diamonds is the way to go.

 

[nutellakitty]

If your tourmaline is faceted big stone, it could get chipped on the edges when u wash dishes with it. This happened to my mom’s 8ct rubellite. Fortunately most cutting masters can recut and polish them if the damage is not that bad.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I know nothing about tourmalines but that's a rather lovelly stone and if it were mine I'd want to ring it !
I think you will just have to be gentle and modify your routine a little to accommodate it like taking it off before doing dishes etc - not just your stones but your prongs will thank you for this

there is a delightful little thread somewhere around here from last week about jewlery boxes/containers/ dishes that ladies around these parts use for safekeeping their pretties while doing chores

 

[elle_71125]

I have a few tourmalines and they are all set into rings. With a hardness of 7.5, they do make great rings. I am not the most graceful person in the world (aka: I’m a klutz) but so far all of my tourmaline rings have come through relatively unscathed. I can’t say the same for my first, unset tourmaline...but that’s another story. Anyways, all this to say that I think you should set it into a ring. It‘ll be gorgeous!

On a slightly different note: Please, please, please don’t wear your rings doing chores or dishes. Colored gems are like magical little creatures and each one is unique. They deserve all of our love & respect. Besides, it only takes one wrong move and your beautiful rings could be ruined.

 

[NKOTB]

I have a few tourmalines and they are all set into rings. With a hardness of 7.5, they do make great rings. I am not the most graceful person in the world (aka: I’m a klutz) but so far all of my tourmaline rings have come through relatively unscathed. I can’t say the same for my first, unset tourmaline...but that’s another story. Anyways, all this to say that I think you should set it into a ring. It‘ll be gorgeous!

On a slightly different note: Please, please, please don’t wear your rings doing chores or dishes. Colored gems are like magical little creatures and each one is unique. They deserve all of our love & respect. Besides, it only takes one wrong move and your beautiful rings could be ruined.

+1

 

[Simple and Sparkly]

Thank you @Diamond Girl 21 @Mrs_Strizzle @icy_jade @nutellakitty @Daisys and Diamonds @elle_71125 @NKOTB !!!

Your comments and suggestions help so much! I wore a sapphire ER for almost a decade without one scratch, so even though I think I am hard on my jewelry, I may not be that bad Thanks for the encouragement- I really wanted to be able to see the “sunset” instead of it being unseen by me as a pendant. I think I will figure out a ring that I will be able to wear and make sure I don’t do any jobs that might hurt it. Again, I REALLY appreciate all your thoughts!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

We look forward to it !