Pronounced “vermay,” vermeil is an electroplating process in which 14K gold or higher is coated over sterling silver. Officially designated by the jewelry industry, items may only be sold as vermeil if they have a minimum thickness of 100 millionths of an inch (2.5 microns) of gold over the silver. Over time, vermeil will wear off and therefore will require re-plating.
Over time your plated items will need to be re-plated. Contact your local jeweler for information on plating services.
On the Mohs Scale, which measures the hardness of minerals, simulated diamonds are an 8.0 to 8.5. Ruby, sapphire and diamond are all harder substances, but simulated stones are still very durable. It is important to understand that hardness is not necessarily related to durability. Even though diamond is the hardest mineral (10.0 on the Mohs Scale), it can still be chipped or broken.
The only ways to tell the difference between simulated diamonds and diamonds are by use of a thermal probe, by weighing the loose stone or by microscopic examination of surface features and inclusions. Simulated diamonds weigh approximately 65% more than diamonds. Therefore, while a 6.25 mm round diamond weighs about 1.00 carat, the same size simulated diamond weighs about 1.65 carats. If you know the weight of a simulated diamond, you can figure out the diamond weight equivalent by multiplying its weight by 0.6, or 60%.
Glossary
Brilliance: The white light leaving a jewel, traveling upward, which is visible to the eye. Brilliance is sometimes referred to as “sparkle.”
Dispersion: Flashes of rainbow colors. Also called “fire.”
Hardness: Resistance to scratching. The higher the number, the more resistant.
Luster: The shininess of a jewel.
Toughness: Resistance to breakage.
Created/Simulated Stones:
How are created or simulated gemstones different from natural gemstones? Natural gemstones are created by the forces of nature and must be discovered, usually by digging in the ground or sifting through a riverbed. Most of these natural gemstones can also be created in a laboratory; they are called created or simulated gemstones. They can be physically—in mineral and chemical contents—identical to their naturally occurring counterparts.
The purpose of creating gemstones in a laboratory isn’t necessarily to reduce the costs, but rather to produce larger, more perfectly formed stones. Because even lab-created diamonds can be very expensive, there are some diamond alternatives on the market that are commonly used to give jewelry the look of authentic diamonds, but which are much less costly. Cubic zirconia and Signity Star® are examples of lab-created gemstones that, to the unaided eye, look identical to natural diamonds.