Round Cut

I spent six years hunched over a microscope in a grading lab, looking at stones that were often much smaller than the marketing brochures suggested. I remember one particular sapphire, no larger than a grain of coarse salt, that a client had been told was “magnificently shaped” for its weight. It wasn’t. It was a … Read more

I spent six years hunched over a microscope in a grading lab, staring at facets until my eyes felt like they were filled with sand. I’ve seen people pay a massive premium for a “perfect” sparkle, convinced that a certain geometry is some kind of magical gateway to value. But here is the truth: a … 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 “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 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