May we see with new eyes, each old thing, each known thing.
Color Study, Stone Study
April 11, 2019
Before we set a stone, I always photograph it first.
I discovered this by chance, finding it very useful in coming up with ideas. Design is in anything when more than one thing comes together. The lens is that one more.
I find that looking at photos you look at light differently. Light from an object to the eye is different from light in study. Color study must consider both.
Gem Taxonomy, August
August 14, 2018
57ct Color Change Alexandrite 14ct Burmese Peridot 22ct Honey Cat’s Eye Chrysoberyl 25ct Natural Star Sapphire Sri Lanka 13ct Unheated Ceylon Blue Sapphire Cabochon 10ct Color Change Tourmaline 9ct Unheated Ruby Cabochon 17.5ct Unheated Kashmir Sapphire 15ct Unheated Bi Color Sapphire 10ct Colombian Emerald 13ct Unheated Cornflower Blue Sapphire 18ct Unheated Vivid Blue Sapphire …
An Atypical Guide to Gems: The Colour Of Gemstones
January 3, 2018
Our guide to gems will tell you what most other guides won’t tell you, which is: do not judge a stone by its colour. When shopping for a gem.
A typical gem guide will tell you to look out for cut and colour and size and origin – all the things you probably already know about. Those things are important if all you are doing is buying a gem based on numbers and figures, but let’s not forget that most of us buy gems to use in jewellery.
Only when the gem is set in jewellery will it look complete. And whatever the colour and quality of a gem, it is the setting that will reveal the potential of a gemstone.
Heated vs Unheated Sapphire: A Guide
September 16, 2017
Most sapphires are heat treated. Thermal treatment is common in commercial sapphires, as heat brings out the vivid colours of sapphires.
Unless stated to be ‘Unheated’ or ‘No Heat’, the sapphires you see on a ring or a pair of earrings are likely to be heat treated.