Tanzanite - safe in a safe?

[Tanzigrrl]

Hi All, I have an in-home safe that is permanently floor-mounted. We set the heater to 66 degrees in the winter and I don't live in a notorious cold climate although we do get occasional snow. Is my tanzanite jewelry okay living in a cold-ish safe? I don't know how cold it is in there, but I do know that when I take my watch out, for example, the metal is chilly against my skin. Does thermal shock only pertain to extremes of hot to cold within a short amount of time or is there an upper and lower temperature limit that tanzanites can tolerate? Thank you for any advice.

 

[stylish1]

Tanzigrrl, from what i've read about tanzanite its not a really tuff stone, about 6 on the hardness scale. When cleaned, should be done in warm soapy water. Usually not found in rings by recommendation of jewelers because of ease of chipping the material. If dried with compressed air, be sure the air is more of room temp-no sudden temp. changes. Storing in a safe in room temp. should cause no problems otherwise. Enjoy.

 

[Pandora II]

I'm not sure that they'd take kindly to being dropped into liquid nitrogen but they'd probably be more than happy to go for a jaunt to the North Pole.

Thermal shock is when you move something from one extreme of temperature to another. So, if you boil your rocks up on the stove and then throw them into some ice-cold water it might not be healthy.

 

[T L]

Tanzigrrl, from what i've read about tanzanite its not a really tuff stone, about 6 on the hardness scale. When cleaned, should be done in warm soapy water. Usually not found in rings by recommendation of jewelers because of ease of chipping the material. If dried with compressed air, be sure the air is more of room temp-no sudden temp. changes. Storing in a safe in room temp. should cause no problems otherwise. Enjoy.

On the contrary, I think LD and others have warned against ever washing a tanzanite in soapy water. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Jim Rentfrow]

As long as you are not taking them out of the safe and putting them into an extremely hot enviroment you should be fine. I know jewelers who have had tanzanites in this enviroment for years with no problem.

 

[T L]

As long as you are not taking them out of the safe and putting them into an extremely hot enviroment you should be fine. I know jewelers who have had tanzanites in this enviroment for years with no problem.

A stone I would never ever put in a safe for a very long time are pearls. They require humidity, and many can get ruined in the dry atmosphere of an enclosed safe.

 

[kelpie]

A stone I would never ever put in a safe for a very long time are pearls. They require humidity, and many can get ruined in the dry atmosphere of an enclosed safe.

Crud! Now I am kicking myself for leaving them in a safe deposit box for the next 2 years. Next trip home I must retrieve them.

On the original topic...I've worked with glass which is I think more susceptible to thermal shock. I can't forsee the slight temp diff or slightly chilly temperatures causing issues. With glass when it would break we're talking 1300 degrees Fahrenheit down to room temp and even then I only had occasional breaks.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

On the original topic...I've worked with glass which is I think more susceptible to thermal shock. I can't forsee the slight temp diff or slightly chilly temperatures causing issues. With glass when it would break we're talking 1300 degrees Fahrenheit down to room temp and even then I only had occasional breaks.

In grade school I did an experiment where I put glass in the freezer for a week (the freezer was about 23F), then (with proper safety equipment) poured different temperatures of water over it. Even at boiling (212F) the glass didn't break.

 

[T L]

On the original topic...I've worked with glass which is I think more susceptible to thermal shock. I can't forsee the slight temp diff or slightly chilly temperatures causing issues. With glass when it would break we're talking 1300 degrees Fahrenheit down to room temp and even then I only had occasional breaks.

In grade school I did an experiment where I put glass in the freezer for a week (the freezer was about 23F), then (with proper safety equipment) poured different temperatures of water over it. Even at boiling (212F) the glass didn't break.

I had a nasty habit of drinking hot tea and hot liquids in glass mugs. I learned the hard way that you can ruin lots of glass mugs after a while doing this.

 

[Arcadian]

I can't speak for safety deposit boxes but I can sure speak about home safes.

As far as temperature changes, if the safe is sub floor level, things may be a little cool, but gems should be fine. I'm in the NE we go from sticky hot to downright ridiculous in the winter, and I've never had an issue with gems in my safe.

However, all safes are not created equal. Though my pearls are also in there, I had to put some dehumidifying crystals in there because I had some other metal things rust (I ccw, take your guess ) If your safe is multipurpose, it happens. I keep the pearls in a padded baggie so I think they're ok.


-A

 

[PrecisionGem]

The small temperature changes you are looking at would have no effect at all.

One of the most stress full things a stone goes through is getting cut. First we heat up a dop stick so hot you can't touch it, then melt some wax on it, and stick on the stone. In a matter of seconds the stone gets so hot you can't touch it. The cutting process imparts a lot of stress then on the stone, as does the polishing which can create high localized temperatures. These stones are a lot more resilient then people think.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

Hi Everyone! Thank you all for your responses. It sounds like it is going to be just fine in my home safe. I appreciate all of the advice and feedback.

 

[LD]

Tanzigrrl, from what i've read about tanzanite its not a really tuff stone, about 6 on the hardness scale. When cleaned, should be done in warm soapy water. Usually not found in rings by recommendation of jewelers because of ease of chipping the material. If dried with compressed air, be sure the air is more of room temp-no sudden temp. changes. Storing in a safe in room temp. should cause no problems otherwise. Enjoy.

On the contrary, I think LD and others have warned against ever washing a tanzanite in soapy water. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

No you're quite right. The water can get into fissures and cause a cloudy look over time which is how I ruined one many years ago. You need to simply wipe over with a lightly damp cloth - never wash with soapy water!

In terms of a safe. My Tanzanites have been in a similar condition to yours for years and are fine. In fact, we probably have much colder temperatures in the UK than you're describing so I would think you've got nothing to worry about - just don't fish it out of the safe and then decide to put it in the oven!!!

 

[stylish1]

by LovingDiamonds » 29 Mar 2011 13:11
Written by tourmaline_lover » 29 Mar 2011 07:22:
Written by stylish1 » 29 Mar 2011 07:06:
Tanzigrrl, from what i've read about tanzanite its not a really tuff stone, about 6 on the hardness scale. When cleaned, should be done in warm soapy water. Usually not found in rings by recommendation of jewelers because of ease of chipping the material. If dried with compressed air, be sure the air is more of room temp-no sudden temp. changes. Storing in a safe in room temp. should cause no problems otherwise. Enjoy.

On the contrary, I think LD and others have warned against ever washing a tanzanite in soapy water. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

No you're quite right. The water can get into fissures and cause a cloudy look over time which is how I ruined one many years ago. You need to simply wipe over with a lightly damp cloth - never wash with soapy water!

When I did say wash gems in soapy water, I did mean with a damp cloth, never chemicals or soak-in, you are what eat or in this case, soak in. Some gems are porus like skin and damage can occur when liqued is applied.

 

[PrecisionGem]

I really can't picture water hurting the stone. Tanzanite isn't like an emerald where there could be open fissures to the surface of the stone. When a stone is cut, there is water running constantly on the lap. This would be the time for any water to get forced into the stone since there is a lot of friction and pressure involved. Maybe you are not rinsing the soap off the stone? I clean every stone after cutting with Q-tip and rubbing alcohol. Some stones that are heat sensitive such as Apatite, after cutting, I'll soak overnight in acetone to remove the glue from the dop. Water isn't going to hurt any stone.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I really can't picture water hurting the stone. Tanzanite isn't like an emerald where there could be open fissures to the surface of the stone. When a stone is cut, there is water running constantly on the lap. This would be the time for any water to get forced into the stone since there is a lot of friction and pressure involved. Maybe you are not rinsing the soap off the stone? I clean every stone after cutting with Q-tip and rubbing alcohol. Some stones that are heat sensitive such as Apatite, after cutting, I'll soak overnight in acetone to remove the glue from the dop. Water isn't going to hurt any stone.

Phew, good to know!

 

[Pandora II]

Opals are another stone not to keep in too dry an atmosphere. Jeweller's windows with lots of lights can cause problems.

 

[LD]

I really can't picture water hurting the stone. Tanzanite isn't like an emerald where there could be open fissures to the surface of the stone. When a stone is cut, there is water running constantly on the lap. This would be the time for any water to get forced into the stone since there is a lot of friction and pressure involved. Maybe you are not rinsing the soap off the stone? I clean every stone after cutting with Q-tip and rubbing alcohol. Some stones that are heat sensitive such as Apatite, after cutting, I'll soak overnight in acetone to remove the glue from the dop. Water isn't going to hurt any stone.

Sorry Gene but in my opinion this can't be correct. I was told categorically by a gemmologist who examined my ruined Tanzanite that the only possibility as to why it had gone cloudy was repeated exposure to water. To explain, I wore this particular Tanzanite for over a year and didn't remove it (this was many years ago I hasten to add). Therefore it was showered in etc, repeatedly. The cloudiness was NOT there when I bought the stone. It grew over the course of a year and ended up looking very very very cloudy. This was NOT a surface problem. There really was only one explanation and that was that soapy water over time had seeped into the Tanzanite and damaged it internally. I can't recall now whether there were any surface reaching fissures (quite probably) BUT this particular gemstone was examined extensively to find out the cause of the damage and water damage was the only possibility. If you can think of any other reason as to why this may have happened I'd be interested.

I'm going to search my photo archives to see if I have a before/after photo. I have a feeling I don't but I'll look because pictures speak volumes!