Gemstone Beads / Hardness and Grade Scale?

by N.B.

For those of you that use natural gemstones – what hardness do you use?

According to the research a hardness of 7 or higher is preferred for everyday wear.

Have you used different hardness scales without a problem or customer complaints?

Also what grading do you often buy? Does grading matter in handcrafted jewelry?

A-grade and B-grade jewelry is the highest quality plus more costly, so it’s often used in fine jewelry.

Although I am offering handcrafted jewelry, I want it to be just as good as fine jewelry.

I also want people to want my handcrafted jewelry (we all do) without thinking it’s inferior to fine jewelry.

Am I thinking too much and going overboard?

N.B.