Dagny Solheim 
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. I’ve seen enough “miracle stones” to know that most people are sold a fantasy of magic rather than geometry. When you’re looking at a diamond, you aren’t looking at … Read more
I remember sitting in a cramped grading lab in Bergen, squinting through a loupe at a tray of stones that all looked, at first glance, like nothing more than little sparks of light. Most people walk into a jeweler’s shop expecting a certain kind of magic, only to find themselves paralyzed by the choice between … 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. I’ve seen enough stones to know that the industry loves to wrap simple things in layers of expensive-sounding nonsense. People will try to tell you that the round brilliant … Read more
I remember sitting in the grading lab back in Bergen, staring through a loupe at an opal that looked like a spilled bucket of oil on a wet pier. It was breathtaking, but it was also incredibly fragile. A few months later, I saw a client walk in with a beautiful piece of morganite that … Read more
I remember sitting in a dim grading lab in Bergen, squinting through a loupe until my eyes ached, staring at a tray of stones that looked identical to the naked eye. A client had brought in a ring, convinced they’d found a rare treasure, only for me to realize they were holding a piece of … Read more
I remember sitting in a cramped, fluorescent-lit lab in Bergen, squinting through a loupe until my eyes ached, staring at a stone that looked like a drop of blood caught in a tide pool. It had that deep, saturated red—the kind of color you only see when a pebble is completely submerged in seawater—and the … 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 wrap gemstones in layers of expensive, mystical nonsense. You’ll see shops charging a premium for “spiritual energy” when all you really need to know is the chemistry and … Read more