Gemstone Journal

Gemstone knowledge from the source: sourcing insights, care guides, and buying advice to help you choose jewelry and stones with confidence.

Gemstone necklaces and pendants from the Sapphire Row necklaces collection
Jewelry and Gifts
Sapphire Row

Gemstone Pendants: A Buyer's Guide to Choosing the Right Stone for a Necklace

View details
Green Gemstones: green emerald, green tsavorite garnet, green tourmaline and green peridot on a white card over a soft green page Color Guides
Sapphire Row

Green Gemstones: A Buyer's Guide to Choosing the Right Green

Emerald, tsavorite, demantoid, green sapphire, tourmaline and peridot: what makes each green and how to choose the right one.

View details
Blue Gemstones: blue tanzanite, blue sapphire, blue aquamarine and blue spinel on a white card over a soft blue page Color Guides
Sapphire Row

Blue Gemstones: A Buyer's Guide to Choosing the Right Blue

Sapphire, tanzanite, aquamarine, spinel and more: what makes each one blue, how to tell them apart, and which suit an everyday ring.

View details
October Birthstone: red opal, pink tourmaline, green tourmaline and rubellite tourmaline Birthstones
Sapphire Row

October Birthstone: A Buyer's Guide to Opal and Tourmaline

October's two birthstones, opal and tourmaline, could hardly be less alike. How each gets its color and how to choose.

View details
Parti Sapphires and Teal Sapphires: oval teal sapphire in a white circle Gem Guides
Sapphire Row

Parti Sapphires and Teal Sapphires: The Beauty of Color Zoning

What gives parti and teal sapphires more than one color, how the cut changes what you see, and how to judge one before buying.

View details
Gemstone Treatments Explained: heated blue sapphire, oiled green emerald, untreated Malaya garnet and unheated blue sapphire in a grid Treatments and Labs
Sapphire Row

Gemstone Treatments Explained: What's Normal and What's Not

Which gemstone treatments are routine, which change a stone's value, and how to read treatment on a lab report before you buy.

View details
September Birthstone: cornflower blue sapphire, pink sapphire, yellow sapphire and Padparadscha sapphire Birthstones
Sapphire Row

September Birthstone: A Buyer’s Guide to Sapphire

Sapphire, the September birthstone, comes in every color but red. How to choose one by color, origin, treatment and wear.

View details
Gemstone Shapes Explained: oval pink sapphire, cushion bicolor sapphire, pear pink sapphire and emerald-cut purple sapphire in a grid Buying Basics
Sapphire Row

Gemstone Shapes Explained: How to Choose the Right One

A shape-by-shape guide to gemstones: brilliant, step and mixed cuts, and how an outline changes color, size and durability.

View details
Gemstone Origin: blue sapphire from Sri Lanka, red ruby from Mozambique and green emerald from Zambia in white circles on navy Buying Basics
Sapphire Row

Gemstone Origin: Why Where a Stone Was Mined Changes Its Value

How Burma, Mozambique, Kashmir, Colombia and Zambia shape a gemstone's value, how labs decide origin, and when it should matter to you.

View details
Gemstone Certification: lab reports for a Paraiba tourmaline, a ruby, an emerald and a peridot fanned out under the title Treatments and Labs
Sapphire Row

Gemstone Certification: How to Read a Gem Lab Report

How to read a gem lab report line by line: identity, treatment and origin, which labs the trade relies on, and the red flags.

View details
Carat Weight vs Size: 0.64 ct blue sapphire, 0.98 ct blue sapphire, 2.01 ct blue sapphire and 3.45 ct cornflower blue sapphire beside the word Carat on navy Buying Basics
Sapphire Row

Carat Weight vs Size: Why Two One-Carat Gems Look Nothing Alike

Why carat is weight, not size, how density and cut change what a stone looks like, and why you should buy by millimeter.

View details
Gemstone Clarity Explained: emerald-cut green emerald, blue tanzanite, blue sapphire and rubellite tourmaline beside the word Clarity on navy Buying Basics
Sapphire Row

Gemstone Clarity Explained: Which Inclusions Matter and Which Don't

Which inclusions are normal in which gemstones, what eye-clean really means, and when an inclusion is a sign of origin, not a flaw.

View details
Gemstone Color Explained: blue sapphire, teal sapphire, yellow sapphire and pink sapphire beside the word Color on navy Buying Basics
Sapphire Row

Gemstone Color Explained: How Hue, Tone, and Saturation Set Value

How hue, tone and saturation work together, why saturation moves the price most, and how to judge color for yourself.

View details