A piece worn once a year and a piece worn every day are different purchases, and the second is much less forgiving. Three things decide whether a stone will still look right in five years.
Hardness is not toughness
Hardness describes resistance to scratching; toughness describes resistance to chipping. A stone can be very hard and still chip if it has a natural cleavage plane. Both matter for a ring, which spends its life meeting door handles and kitchen counters.
The setting matters as much as the stone
A high solitaire catches on a coat sleeve. A bezel — where metal rims the stone entirely — protects the girdle and sits flat. For a piece that will be worn while working, the setting is usually the more important decision.
Colour holds up better than clarity
Small inclusions are invisible at arm's length. Poor colour is visible from across a room. If a budget has to give somewhere, it should generally give on clarity rather than on hue.
Match the metal to the life
18K is the usual choice for gemstone settings; 14K is harder still and more forgiving of daily wear. Both hold a stone far better than 22K, which is why the traditional purity is used for plain and lightly set jewellery rather than for claw settings.
