Dagny Solheim 
I spent six years in a grading lab, staring through a loupe until my eyes felt like they were filled with sand, and if there is one thing I learned, it’s that the insurance industry loves to hide behind impenetrable jargon. Most people approach the topic of insuring gemstone jewellery and what the valuation needs … Read more
I spent six years hunched over a bench in a grading lab, staring through a loupe until my eyes felt like they were full of sand, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the gemstone market loves a good fairy tale. You’ll see people online talking about benitoite as if it’s some … Read more
I remember sitting in a grading lab in Bergen, staring through a loupe at a massive, deep-teal sapphire that looked like the North Sea during a storm. It was a magnificent specimen, but the jeweler had tried to force it into a delicate, thin-wire filigree mount that looked like it would snap if you even … Read more
I spent six years hunched over a microscope in a grading lab, looking at the internal fractures and inclusions of stones that people called “miraculous.” I’ve learned that most jewelry marketing is just expensive noise designed to make you feel like you’re buying a piece of the cosmos rather than a mineral with a specific … Read more
I spent six years in a grading lab, staring through a loupe until my eyes felt like they’d been scrubbed with sand, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you don’t need a mountain of gold to own something beautiful. Most people think that building a small gemstone collection on a budget … Read more
I spent six years hunched over a microscope in a grading lab, and if there is one thing that gets under my skin, it’s the way people talk about alexandrite. You’ll see it in high-end catalogs, wrapped in this mystical, almost magical language that suggests the stone is performing a spell. It’s nonsense. There is … Read more
I spent six years hunched over a bench in a grading lab, staring through a loupe until my eyes felt like they were full of sand, and if there is one thing I learned, it is that people love to overcomplicate a simple stone. I see sellers online trying to spin a mystical tale about … Read more