What’s in a name?

I had an inquiry from a client today about acceptable misnomers within the industry.  This particular issue was about coated quartz being sold as coated topaz.  He felt that since brown quartz and citrine have often been called “Smokey Topaz”…

Death of the Salesmen?

“He don’t put a bolt to a nut, he don’t tell you the law or give you medicine. He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine… A salesman is got to dream,…

Do we need gem labs?

There is a lot of current chatter, especially in the US, about the inconsistency of diamond grades from different gemlabs. Every few years someone does an experiment sending one stone to several labs to compare the grades. Without fail, each time this experiment…

It’s time to colour your Christmas

Let’s face it.  Christmas is the single biggest holiday event in the jewellery world.   For US jewellery retailers, this highly commercialized holiday typically accounts for 30-50% of the yearly business.  Now is the time to prepare for this important selling…

Coloured Stones: The Beauty is Included

We all know that inclusions in diamonds can be a bad thing. Nearly invisible specks inside a diamond can have a tremendous effect on value. However, inclusions play a major role in the world of coloured gemstones. Inclusions are a very important part of…

Artisanal Gemstones: The Cutting Edge of Colour

If you really want to make your coloured stone business stand out from the rest, look for gems cut by master craftsmen and artists. For very high quality material; especially Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, you want classic shapes and cuts that are…