Durable Gemstones That Last Through Daily Ring Wear

Everyday rings and which stones survive them.

I spent six years hunched over a microscope in a grading lab, staring at inclusions until my eyes burned, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that marketing departments are terrible at physics. You’ll see a shopkeeper promise you that a beautiful, pale lilac stone is “perfect for daily wear,” but they aren’t … Read more

Earring Backs and How Earrings Go Missing

Earring backs and how stones go missing.

I remember sitting in the lab in Bergen, staring through a loupe at a sapphire that looked like the ocean just after a storm—that deep, bruised indigo. I’d spent hours verifying its inclusions, only to have the client call me a week later because the stone had simply vanished from its setting. It wasn’t some … Read more

Why Stones Come Loose in Tennis Bracelets

Tennis bracelets and the stones that fall out of them.

I remember sitting in a cramped, fluorescent-lit grading lab in Bergen, staring through a loupe at a tray of “high-grade” diamonds that looked more like cloudy sea glass than anything precious. A client had come in, distraught because she’d lost half her jewelry in a single afternoon, complaining about the “bad luck” surrounding her new … Read more