Journal · 980 notes
Notes from the bench
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.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Bulk Jewelry Production for Retailers: Lead Time & QC
Bulk jewelry production lead times, QC rejection rates, and how retailers should schedule reorders to avoid stockouts during peak season.
Buying guides · Sep 2026
Custom Jewelry Production Timeline: Factory Lead Time Guide
A realistic week-by-week breakdown of custom jewelry production, from CAD approval to shipped parcel, and where buyers can safely compress the schedule.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Spinel Gemstone Guide: The Royal Red & Blue Underdog
Some of history's most famous 'rubies' were actually spinel. Discover this underrated gem's colors, hardness, price, and why it punches above its weight.
Buying guides · Sep 2026
How to Measure Your Ring Size at Home Without Guessing Wrong
A jeweler honest guide to at-home ring sizing: timing, knuckles, temperature, band width, and the slip-ups that lead to a ring that will not slide on.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Citrine Gemstone Guide: Heat Treatment, Color, and Value
Most commercial citrine begins as amethyst before heat brings out its golden color. Learn what that treatment means for value, care, and everyday wear.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Rhodium Plating: Why White Gold and Silver Get It, and How Often It Really Needs Re-Doing
Rhodium plating thickness, wear pattern, and realistic re-plate intervals for rings vs earrings, plus EU nickel-release notes.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Rutilated Quartz: The Golden Needles Inside a Clear Stone
Rutilated quartz is clear quartz laced with golden rutile needles. Here is what makes a good piece, how it cuts, and how durable it really is.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
Jewelry Stone Matching: Color and Grade Selection
How matched stone lots are built for wholesale programs: color, clarity, carat, and why a matched bag beats loose picks.
Buying guides · Sep 2026
Custom Jewelry Factory Pricing: What Each Line Costs
Custom jewelry factory pricing broken into CAD, tooling, metal, stones, labor, plating and packaging. How each line moves at volume.
Stones & grading · Sep 2026
How Jewelry Plating Thickness Is Actually Measured
Microns, microinches, XRF and beta backscatter: how plating thickness on gold- and rhodium-plated jewelry is measured, and what the numbers mean.
Making & process · Sep 2026
Checking for Casting Pits: A QC Bench Routine
How a jewelry QC bench screens for casting pits, porosity and pinholes under 10x, and which pits are actually rejectable.
Making & process · Sep 2026
From CAD File to Cast Ring: The Custom Jewelry Workflow Hand-offs
CAD geometry, support gates, resin printing, burnout and casting: where a digital design succeeds or fails before it ever reaches the bench.
