Notes from the bench

Buying guides · Sep 2026

The Signet Ring Buying Guide: Styles, Metals, and Engraving That Lasts

Signet rings are back, but sizing, metal choice, and engraving all have rules. We walk through oval vs cushion, gold vs platinum, and crests.

Stones & grading · Sep 2026

Spinel Gemstone Guide: The Ruby Look-Alike That Deserves the Spotlight

Long mistaken for ruby, spinel is a durable, vivid, and affordable gem. Learn its properties, treatments, and why it beats ruby on value.

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.

Making & process · Sep 2026

Mokume Gane Jewelry: Layered Metal Patterns at the Bench

Mokume gane fuses contrasting metals into a single billet, then slices it into flowing wood-grain patterns. Here is how it works and what it costs.

Buying guides · Sep 2026

Eternity Bands: Full vs Half, What to Actually Buy

Full eternity bands sparkle all around but can't be resized. Half eternity bands are practical. Compare cost, comfort, and resizing before you buy.

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.

Making & process · Sep 2026

Jewelry Casting Shrinkage and Expected Weight Loss: What Buyers Should Budget

Linear shrinkage, weight recovery, and sprue scrap rates per alloy so you can quote finished gram weight before a single pour leaves the flask.

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.