Evaluating Gem Color: Hue, Tone, and Saturation
Accurately describing gem color is critical to determining a gemstone’s value. Learn how to grade hue, tone, and saturation and avoid some common…
Precision Faceting a Story Gemstone: Custom Faceting Advice
Your prized gemstones deserve custom faceting. Learn the benefits of working with precision faceters and tips for starting your own jewelry project.…
Precision Faceting a Story Gemstone: The Faceting Process
The faceting process turns rough stones into finished gems. Learn the steps custom faceters take to create unique gemstones that tell a client’s…
Precision Faceting a Story Gemstone: Gem Design
In the gem design stage of jewelry making, faceters evaluate a stone’s qualities. Learn how to choose a cut for a gemstone as unique as your personal…
Precision Faceting a Story Gemstone: Choosing Rough
A precision faceter can turn a rough stone into a story gemstone as unique as each client. Choosing the right rough is the first step in the design…
The Mohs Hardness Scale and Chart for Select Gems
The Mohs hardness scale measures a mineral’s resistance to scratching. Find the traditional scale here and a chart of select gems ordered by hardness.…
A Faceter’s Guide To Dark Saturated Rough Gems
Can you turn dark saturated rough gems into facetable material? Learn how to pick the right cuts and heat treatments and, importantly, when to just…
Common Sense Gemstone Grading: An Alternative System
Can gem grading avoid subjective terms? Learn about gemologist Jeff Graham’s common sense gemstone grading system, an alternative to commercial…
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