Emerald Cut

I spent six years hunched over a microscope in a grading lab, staring at stones until my eyes felt like they’d been scrubbed with sand. One thing I learned quickly is that the jewelry industry loves to make things sound much more complicated than they actually are just to justify a higher price tag. You’ll … 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 hunched over a bench in a grading lab, staring through a loupe until my eyes felt like they were full of sand. I’ve seen enough “investment grade” stones to know that most people are sold a fantasy when they buy a large gemstone. They get caught up in the romanticism of … Read more

I spent six years hunched over a bench in a grading lab, my eyes aching from staring through a loupe at nothing but light and tiny, jagged imperfections. I remember one particular afternoon, staring at a stone that looked absolutely perfect in the velvet display case, only to have it look like a cracked frozen … Read more