Gem Journal
Learn the stone before you buy it
Straight answers on identifying, pricing, choosing and caring for natural gemstones — written for buyers in Pakistan, with the Urdu names you already know.
What sets the rate for zabarjad Peridot Pricing: Colour, Clarity and the Kohistan Factor
Peridot, called zabarjad in Urdu, has a special place in the Pakistani market because some of the world's finest peridot has come from the m…
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How the trade grades yaqoot Reading a Ruby: Colour, Glow, Silk and Treatment
A ruby (yaqoot) can be worth a little or a great deal at the same weight, and the gap is decided by things you can learn to see. The trade d…
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How turquoise is really graded Reading Feroza: Matrix, Colour and Stabilisation
Feroza (turquoise) is graded on things you can see with the naked eye, which makes it one of the easiest gems for a buyer to judge, once you…
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Aqeeq authenticity, explained simply Spotting Dyed and Glass Aqeeq Before You Buy
Aqeeq is the name most Pakistani buyers use for agate and carnelian, especially the warm red and brown stones worn in rings for generations…
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Banding, contrast and finish Sulemani Aqeeq: What Separates a Fine Stone from a Plain One
Sulemani aqeeq is banded agate, typically black or dark brown with crisp white lines, sometimes forming eye-like rings. It is widely worn in…
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Beliefs, pleochroism and safe wear Tanzanite in Tradition and Practice: A Stone of Three Colours
Tanzanite is a young gem by any standard. It was only found in the 1960s, in one small area near Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and it is st…
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Who wears tiger eye, and how Tiger Eye: The Moving Band, the Belief and the Right Setting
Tiger eye is easy to recognise: a golden-brown stone with a silky band of light that rolls across it as you move. Many people in Pakistan bu…
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Iron tiger eye, explained for first buyers Tiger Iron for Beginners: Bands, Shine and Fair Value
Iron tiger eye, also called tiger iron, is a striking banded rock made of three materials layered together: golden tiger's eye, red jasper a…
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Care for sunehla topaz Topaz Is Hard, Not Unbreakable: How to Look After It
Topaz (sunehla) sits at 8 on the Mohs scale, harder than quartz and tough enough to keep its polish for years in a daily ring. Yet jewellers…
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Tradition, colour and Pakistani supply Tourmaline's Many Colours and What They Are Worn For
Tourmaline comes in more colours than almost any other gem: green, pink, red, blue, yellow, black and stones with two or three colours in on…
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Opal in tradition and in daily life Wearing Opal: Venus, Play-of-Colour and Practical Care
Opal is bought for two reasons in Pakistan: the flashes of colour that move across it, and its traditional link with Venus. Both deserve a l…
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Moti price drivers explained What Decides a Pearl's Price: Nacre, Lustre and Origin
Pearls (moti) are priced in a different way from mined gems. There is no cut to judge and no clarity grade in the usual sense; instead the v…
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Hematite pricing, without the magnetic fakes What Hematite Should Cost, and How to Avoid Paying for Hematine
Hematite is iron oxide, the same mineral that colours rust and red earth, polished to a metallic silver-black mirror. It is an inexpensive s…
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