Topaz: The Complete Guide Topaz has one of the most complex and confusing commercial identities of any gemstone. The word "topaz" has historically been applied to almost any yellow or…
Ruby: The Complete Gemstone Guide Ruby is the most valuable gemstone per carat in the world — surpassing even diamond at the finest qualities. A truly exceptional natural ruby can…
Gemstone Color Saturation and Tone Colour is the primary value driver for most coloured gemstones. But colour is not a single dimension — it has three components: hue, saturation, and…
Sapphire: The Complete Gemstone Guide Sapphire is the most commercially versatile of the classic precious gemstones. Its color range spans virtually the entire spectrum — blue, pink, yellow, orange, green,…
Understanding Pleochroism Hold a tanzanite crystal and rotate it slowly. Depending on your angle, you may see blue, then violet-purple, then something brownish. Hold an alexandrite and tilt it: the…
Tanzanite Buying Guide: The World's Rarest Single-Source Gem Tanzanite is one of the most extraordinary gemstone success stories of the 20th century — and one of the most compelling sales…
Alexandrite: The Color-Change Wonder Explained Alexandrite is perhaps the most scientifically fascinating gem in nature. Named after Tsar Alexander II of Russia, discovered in the Ural Mountains in the 1830s,…
Tourmaline: The Rainbow Gemstone Guide No gemstone family offers more color variety than tourmaline. From the deep forest green of chrome tourmaline to the neon electric blue of Paraiba, from…
The Garnet Family: From Almandine to Demantoid Most people think of garnet as a dark red stone — the January birthstone, the affordable alternative to ruby. This is a profound…
Spinel: The Most Undervalued Precious Gemstone Spinel may be the single most undervalued gemstone in the fine jewelry market. For centuries it was confused with ruby and sapphire — the…