Persian turquoise jewellery: what makes Iranian turquoise different
Why turquoise from north-eastern Iran carries its own name in the trade, what the matrix tells you, and what a soft stone asks of its setting.
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The Silux London Journal
Field notes from Silux London: Persian heritage, the craft of made-to-order fine jewellery, and the stories behind the collections.
Can an engagement ring be resized, and which settings cannot
A jeweller resizes by cutting the shank where it is plain, which explains why eternity bands, all-round pave and tension settings resist it.
Choosing the engagement ring together, or keeping it a surprise
Together or a surprise is really three separate decisions: who chooses the design, what she knows, and when the proposal happens.
Claw, bezel or pave: what each setting commits you to
What each engagement ring setting means for snagging, cleaning and repair years later, and why a claw can only ever be made so fine.
How much should you spend on an engagement ring?
The month's-salary rule began as a 1930s diamond advertisement, not a tradition. Here is what should actually decide your figure instead.
How to approve a ring design before it exists
The gap between approving a picture and receiving a ring, and the four questions that close it before anything is cast.
How to care for an engagement ring day to day
What daily wear actually does to a ring, the one habit that matters most, and what is worth knowing before wearing one for years.
How to find out her ring size without asking
You cannot simply ask, so here is how to find her ring size anyway, which methods are reliable, and what to do when it stays unknowable.
How to read an engagement ring quote
What a ring price is actually made of, and the one question that tells you more than an itemised breakdown ever could.
Natural or lab-grown diamond: what genuinely differs
A lab-grown diamond is a diamond, not a substitute. What is identical, what actually differs, and what nobody can honestly promise you.
Platinum, white gold or yellow gold: choosing a metal
Purity, alloys, rhodium plating, and the durability question nobody has settled. What to actually weigh up before choosing a metal.
The three papers: hallmark, grading report and valuation
Hallmark, grading report and insurance valuation answer three different questions, from three different issuers. Here is how to tell them apart.