Field notes
from the trade
Long form guides to gemstones, sourcing, and the conversations that happen across our table. Pour something. Read closely.
Buying Guideswhen you’re choosing for a piece
Sapphire Buying Guide
The blue standard, the historical origins, the fancy color spectrum, and the full price ladder from commercial to Kashmir.
Read the guideRuby Buying Guide
The pigeon’s blood standard, the Burmese and Mozambique origins, the fluorescence question, and the lead glass filling trap.
Read the guideEmerald Buying Guide
Why emeralds require different expectations. Oiling, the Colombian and Zambian signatures, jardin, and durability honesty.
Read the guideEngagement Ring Center Stone
The single design decision that does the most work in an engagement ring. Size, cut, treatment, and price guidance.
Read the guideOpal Buying Guide
Play of color and body tone, the Australian and Ethiopian origins, the hydrophane question, and a price ladder drawn from live collection.
Read the guideSpinel Buying Guide
The colors and the cobalt question, the great imposter history, untreated by default, and a price ladder from live collection.
Read the guideAquamarine Buying Guide
The color that sets the price, why clarity is the baseline, the heat question, and a price ladder from live collection.
Read the guideTanzanite Buying Guide
One mine on earth, the color that sets the price, the heat that makes the blue, and a price ladder from live collection.
Read the guideTourmaline Buying Guide
Every color a gem can be, the Paraiba exception, how to read quality across a huge field, and a price ladder from live collection.
Read the guideGarnet Buying Guide
The garnet family from everyday reds to the rare greens, why none of it is treated, and a price ladder from live collection.
Read the guideGemstone Educationwhat to know before you spend
Why are rocks worth so much money?
A young reader’s question, answered honestly: rarity, survival, labor, proof, and the oldest agreement in the world.
Read the answerWhat Unheated Means
Heating is the trade’s quiet open secret. Here is what it actually does and why the unheated supply keeps shrinking.
Read the guideHow to Read a Gemstone Certificate
A laboratory report looks more authoritative than it is. What GIA, AGL, SSEF, and Gübelin establish, and what they leave out.
Read the guideColor, Clarity, Cut
The four Cs were built for diamonds. Applied to colored gemstones the priorities reverse and the vocabulary changes.
Read the guidePadparadscha
The rarest commercial variety of sapphire and the most particular. The lotus blossom standard and why Sri Lankan origin matters most.
Read the guide
