Rings

I remember sitting in the lab back in Bergen, squinting through a loupe at a tray of diamond eternity bands that had been sent in for a “quality check.” The jeweler was frantic, claiming the stones were “eternally secure,” but as I leaned in, I saw the truth: a microscopic gap between the girdle of … 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 treat signet rings and the tradition of carved stones like they’re some sort of mystical gateway to ancient bloodlines. You’ll walk into a shop and see a piece … Read more

I spent six years in a grading lab, hunched over a microscope until my neck ached, looking at inclusions that most people would never even notice. I’ve seen beautiful, high-quality sapphires—the kind with a blue like a deep North Sea swell—get absolutely ruined because someone thought they could just pile on every piece of jewelry … Read more

I spent six years in a grading lab looking at stones through a loupe, and if there is one thing I learned, it is that people love to make simple things complicated to justify a higher price tag. You don’t need a specialist consultation or a complex mathematical formula to understand why that sapphire band … Read more

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

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. I’ve seen the way the industry tries to sell “magic” when what you’re actually looking at is a specific arrangement of atoms. Most people think choosing engagement rings set with … Read more