Gemstone Guides

The Line Between a Good Stone and a Great One
On By Sophia Jewelers / 0 comments
editorial specimen lineup across a seamless warm-ivory paper studio sweep
Two blue sapphires sit on the same tray, cut to the same oval, set in the same 14k white gold. One is nine hundred dollars and the other is nine... Read more
Treated vs Untreated Gemstones
Treated vs Untreated Gemstones
Two sapphires under the same lamp, identical in every way a shopper can see, separated by three days in a furnace and a fourfold difference in price. This guide sorts... Read more
On By Sophia Jewelers / 0 comments
Natural vs Synthetic Gemstones, and How to Tell Them Apart
Natural vs Synthetic Gemstones, and How to Tell Them Apart
Two emeralds under one lamp, identical in every way a shopper can see, separated by tens of millions of years and a single word on the tag. This guide draws... Read more
On By Sophia Jewelers / 0 comments
Gemstone Clarity Explained, Inclusion by Inclusion
Gemstone Clarity Explained, Inclusion by Inclusion
Every gemstone keeps a record of how it grew, written in silk, needles and healed fractures. This guide reads gemstone clarity the way a jeweler reads it, naming the three... Read more
On By Sophia Jewelers / 0 comments
Gemstone Color, and How to Read It Properly
Gemstone Color, and How to Read It Properly
Two sapphires can share a birth certificate and sell for ten times apart, and the gap is almost always color. This gemstone color guide reads it the way a jeweler... Read more
On By Sophia Jewelers / 0 comments
Gemstone Hardness, and How Long a Stone Really Lasts
Gemstone Hardness, and How Long a Stone Really Lasts
Every stone in a jewelry box is quietly keeping score. Hardness ranks scratch resistance from 1 to 10, and it explains why one stone still shines after forty years while... Read more
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Best Gemstones for Necklaces
Best Gemstones for Necklaces
A necklace lives at eye level, where color does its most beautiful work. From the saturated blue of sapphire to the soft fire of opal and the glow of pearls,... Read more
On By Sophia Jewelers / 0 comments