Journal · 177 notes
Stones & grading
Written for buyers rather than for search engines: what a specification actually means, where an order usually goes wrong, and what to ask before you pay a deposit.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Garnet: More Than January's Red, From the Bench
Most buyers picture a single deep-red stone, but garnet spans green, orange, and near-colorless varieties. Here is our bench breakdown.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Sunstone: A Field Guide to Aventurescence in the Bench
What bench jewelers know about sunstone: aventurescence vs labradorescence, Oregon vs Indian material, value factors, and how we set it.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
How Jewelry Stones Are Cut for Setting, Not Just for Display
Girdle thickness, pavilion depth, culet type and orientation: why lapidary cut choices decide whether a stone sets cleanly and lasts on a ring.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Lepidolite: Lilac Mica and Its Very Real Limits
Lepidolite is a lilac lithium mica for cabochons and carvings. Learn why its softness restricts it to earrings and pendants, and how to care for it.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Aquamarine Gemstone: Properties, Color, and Value Explained
Aquamarine 101: hardness, color grading, heat treatment, sources, and what makes a fine aquamarine worth buying. From a jewelry manufacturer's bench.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Blue Topaz Gemstone Guide: Color, Durability and Buying Tips
Blue topaz is affordable, hard and brilliant. Learn sky, Swiss and London blue grades, why most is heat- and irradiation-treated, and how to buy it.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Gemstone Inclusion Types: What They Tell Buyers and Setters
Feathers, fingerprints, crystals, clouds, silk, and healing fractures: what each type means for value, durability, and eye-clean grade.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Ulexite: The TV Rock of the Borate Desert
Ulexite, nicknamed TV rock, projects images through its fibrous crystals. Learn what it is, how it cuts, and whether it belongs in jewelry.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Iolite Gemstone Guide: Properties, Color, and Value
A bench-side guide to iolite: pleochroism, color range, durability, value factors, and how to care for violet-blue iolite jewelry.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Turquoise Gemstone Guide: Stabilization, Color, and Value
Turquoise is soft, porous, and often stabilized. Learn what stabilization means, how matrix affects value, and which settings suit this historic stone.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Heliodor Gemstone Guide: Golden Beryl's Sunlit History
What is heliodor? The golden-yellow variety of beryl, its sources, hardness, treatments, and how to wear and care for it every day.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Garnet Gemstone Guide: Every Color in the Family
Garnet isn't only January's deep red birthstone. Meet tsavorite, demantoid, spessartite and rhodolite—plus value and care tips.