Order

Journal

Notes on stones, settings and making

Short, plain articles on what makes one stone different from another, how gold is mixed, and how a ring goes from a drawing to a finished piece.

A gold ring on a steel bench block beside a small stamping punch and a hammer MetalsOct 23, 20262 min read

Hallmarks and stamps

What the small marks inside a ring mean, which ones the law requires, and which ones mean a piece is not solid gold.

  • A fineness mark such as 14K or 585 states how much gold the metal contains.
  • UK law requires gold to be hallmarked by an assay office, and US law requires no fineness mark.
  • Stamps such as GF, GP, HGE and Vermeil mean gold filled or gold plated metal.
Read the article A slice of watermelon tourmaline beside a pink and a green faceted tourmaline on pale stone StonesOct 14, 20262 min read

Tourmaline comes in every color

One mineral group, more colors than any other gem, and a stone whose color changes with the direction you look into it.

 A loose blue sapphire in a small clear gem box beside a loupe and a blank white card Care and buyingOct 5, 20262 min read

Reading a gem report

What a lab report on a colored stone tells you, what it doesn't, and when it is worth paying for one.

 Twelve small loose gemstones of different colors arranged in a circle on pale stone StonesSep 26, 20262 min read

Who decided the birthstones?

The list most American jewelers use was agreed at a trade meeting in 1912, and trade groups have revised it since.

 Pencil sketches of a ring on cream paper with a loose oval ruby resting on the page MakingSep 17, 20262 min read

From drawing to model

How a setting is designed around one particular stone, in four steps, before any metal is cast.

 An oval aquamarine on printed paper, with the print showing through its pale center CutsSep 9, 20262 min read

Windows and deep bellies

Two cutting faults that are easy to spot once you know them, and why cutters make them.

 A magnified view inside a green emerald with small crystals and feathery fractures StonesAug 31, 20262 min read

Silk, needles and gardens

What the inclusions inside colored stones are, which ones lower the price, and which ones show a stone is natural.

 A gold ring with a blue sapphire on a folded linen cloth beside a small glass bowl Care and buyingAug 22, 20262 min read

Cleaning colored stones at home

Lukewarm water, mild soap and a soft brush clean most pieces safely. A few stones need gentler handling.

 Five oval sapphires in a row from pale blue to very dark blue on pale stone StonesAug 14, 20262 min read

Hue, tone and saturation

Three words for describing the color of a stone, and why the same stone looks different under different lights.

 A loose oval pinkish-orange sapphire beside a pale pink lotus petal on pale stone StonesAug 5, 20262 min read

Padparadscha: a sapphire named after a lotus

A pink-orange sapphire with a Sinhalese name and a long argument about where it begins and ends.

 A gold four-claw ring head and a loose oval ruby on a wooden jeweler's bench pin MakingJul 28, 20262 min read

How a stone is set

Setting a stone in claws takes five steps and most of an afternoon. Each one is about fit.

 Yellow, rose and white gold rings stacked together on pale stone MetalsJul 19, 20262 min read

What's in yellow, rose and white gold

The color of gold jewelry comes from what it is mixed with. So do its hardness and whether it can irritate your skin.

 An oval blue sapphire, a cushion pink spinel and an emerald-cut emerald in a row on pale stone CutsJul 10, 20262 min read

Oval, cushion or emerald cut

The cut decides whether a stone sparkles or shows broad flashes of color, and how large it looks for its weight.

 A pinkish-red cushion spinel beside a red oval ruby on pale stone StonesJul 2, 20262 min read

Spinel, the stone that was mistaken for ruby

Some of the most famous "rubies" in royal collections are red spinels. Mineralogists only began telling the two apart in the late 1700s.

 Three gold rings on pale stone, one claw-set ruby, one bezel-set sapphire and one sapphire in a diamond halo SettingsJun 24, 20262 min read

Claws, bezel or halo

Three ways to hold a stone. Each shows it differently and asks for different care.

 A loose oval blue sapphire beside a small white ceramic crucible on pale stone StonesJun 15, 20262 min read

What "heated" means on a sapphire label

Most rubies and sapphires are heated after mining. The treatment is permanent and routine, and it changes the price.

 A polished gold ring beside an identical ring printed in purple castable resin MakingJun 6, 20263 min read

Lost-wax casting, start to finish

How a ring goes from a model on a screen to solid gold, and why the wax never comes back.

 An emerald-cut emerald beside a small glass vial of pale oil on pale stone StonesMay 29, 20262 min read

Why almost every emerald is oiled

Emeralds grow full of tiny fractures. Filling them is old, routine, and something every seller should tell you about.

 Two plain gold bands side by side, one paler yellow and one deeper yellow MetalsMay 20, 20262 min read

14k or 18k gold

The number is the share of gold in the metal. It changes the color, the hardness, the weight and the price.

 A set of plain steel ring sizing gauges fanned out on pale stone Care and buyingMay 11, 20262 min read

Measuring your ring size at home

The most reliable way is to measure a ring that already fits. Four steps, a ruler and a little care.

 A ruby, sapphire, spinel, emerald and tanzanite in a row on pale stone StonesMay 2, 20262 min read

Hardness, toughness and an everyday ring

A stone for daily wear has to resist scratches and survive knocks. Those are two different properties.

 A loose oval emerald held in the jaws of a brass gem gauge CutsApr 24, 20262 min read

Why colored stones are sized in millimeters

A carat is a weight. Two stones of the same weight can look very different sizes.

 A rough ruby crystal beside a small faceted oval ruby on pale gray stone StonesApr 15, 20262 min read

Lab-grown or natural: what's different and what isn't

The chemistry is the same. The growth story, the clues inside the stone and the price are not.

 A loose oval ruby and a loose oval blue sapphire, each on pale gray stone StonesApr 7, 20262 min read

Ruby and sapphire are the same mineral

Both are corundum. A trace of one metal or another decides which name a stone gets.

Coming up

  1. Where colored stones come from
  2. Four claws or six
  3. Why some bands split under the stone
  4. Stacking bands
  5. Polished, satin or hammered
  6. Which rings can be resized

One Good Stone letters

New designs, first.

A short letter a few times a year with new designs and what is new in the journal. Unsubscribe from any letter in one click.