Dagny Solheim 
I spent six years in a grading lab, hunched over a microscope until my neck ached, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the gemstone market loves a good lie. You’ll see vendors online claiming every deep blue stone is a rare treasure, but more often than not, you’re just looking at … Read more
I spent six years in a grading lab, hunched over a microscope while the fluorescent lights hummed, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that people tend to overlook the most interesting things because they aren’t “vibrant.” There is this exhausting myth in the jewelry world that a stone has to scream with … Read more
I spent six years hunched over a microscope in a grading lab, and if there is one thing that makes my skin crawl, it’s seeing a shop owner charge a premium for a stone simply because they’ve slapped a fancy name on it. People get so caught up in the mysticism of “healing energies” that … 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 filled with sand. People always come to me when they are stuck between two very different moods: the sharp, modern geometry of a princess cut or the soft, romantic curves of a … Read more
I spent six years hunched over a microscope in a grading lab, staring at stones until my eyes felt like they were full of sand. I remember one particular afternoon, looking at a ruby that had a color so unnaturally bright it looked like freshly spilled beet juice on a wet stone. The salesperson had … 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 the jewelry industry tries to gatekeep certain shapes. You’ll see marketing copy claiming that a specific, elegant silhouette is “reserved” for high-end beryl, but that is absolute nonsense. The … 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. I’ve seen beautiful stones lost to bad craftsmanship and cheap glass held in settings that looked like they might snap if you breathed on them. Usually, when people come to me, they are … Read more