The Journal · Topic

Buying Guides

How to buy antique and vintage jewelry without getting burned: what to ask, what to check, what the paperwork does and does not prove.

Hands holding an antique gold cluster ring and a brass loupe to inspect the hallmarks inside the shank, with calipers, diamond jewelry on a tray and ring sketches nearby.
October 2026

Does the Gold Price Matter When You Buy Jewelry? Melt Value vs What You Pay

Does the gold price matter when you buy jewelry? How to calculate melt value from weight, karat and spot price, why retail...

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Tiffany T circle pendant in 18k yellow gold with a round polished turquoise inlay framed by small diamonds and an open T motif, on a fine gold chain.
October 2026

How to Tell If Turquoise Is Real: Dyed Howlite, Stabilised Stone and Block

How to tell if turquoise is real: the drill-hole check that exposes dyed howlite and magnesite, what stabilised, enhanced and block turquoise...

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A hand resting on green velvet wearing an antique old cut diamond ring, with two more antique diamond rings, a diamond line necklace and an open ring box beside it.
October 2026

What a 1 Carat Diamond Really Looks Like: Size, Price Jumps and Smarter Choices

What a 1 carat diamond really looks like: about 6.4 to 6.5 mm for a well-cut round, why ovals and pears look...

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Loose cut coloured gemstones, including blue, green, red, purple and yellow stones, on an antique silver tray and green velvet beside a loupe, tweezers and a notebook of cut diagrams.
October 2026

Aquamarine vs Blue Topaz: How to Tell Them Apart

Aquamarine vs blue topaz: why one is iron-coloured beryl and the other usually irradiated topaz, how density, refractive index and dichroism separate...

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Loose cut gemstones including an emerald, rubies, blue sapphires and purple and yellow stones on an antique silver tray and green velvet, with a loupe, tweezers and a notebook of cut diagrams.
October 2026

Synthetic Rubies Since 1902: The Lab Stones Hiding in Antique Rings

Synthetic rubies have been made since Verneuil's flame-fusion process of 1902, and many Edwardian, Art Deco and 1940s rubies are lab-grown. How...

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Antique diamond rings in a green velvet ring tray, including a cushion halo ring, a flower cluster ring and an old cut solitaire, with drop earrings, a loupe and a sketchbook.
October 2026

How to Stack Rings: Mixing Antique Bands, Metals and Stones

How to stack rings: the anchor-and-band formula, how many rings to wear and on which fingers, mixing gold colours and antique with...

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Loose old cut diamonds in cushion, round and oval shapes on green velvet beside a brass loupe, calipers and a notebook of diamond facet drawings.
October 2026

Can Diamonds Chip or Break? What 'Hardest Material' Really Means

Can diamonds chip or break? Why Mohs 10 hardness is not toughness, how octahedral cleavage works, where diamonds chip, why old cuts...

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Loose sapphire, ruby, emerald, citrine and amethyst gemstones on an antique tray with tweezers, a jeweler's loupe and cut diagrams.
October 2026

Padparadscha, Pink and Yellow Sapphires: The Colours Beyond Blue

Fancy sapphires explained: padparadscha, pink, yellow, orange, purple, green, white, colour-change and parti sapphires, where each comes from, how they are treated,...

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Hands inspecting the hallmarks inside an antique gold ring with a jeweler's loupe, beside calipers and a sketchbook.
October 2026

How to Tell If a Bulgari B.zero1 Ring Is Real

How to tell if a Bulgari B.zero1 ring is real: the 1999 Colosseum-inspired design, BVLGARI engraving on the rims, inside marks and...

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