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.
Yellow sapphire price drivers What Makes One Pukhraj Cost More Than Another
Yellow sapphire (pukhraj) has one of the widest price spreads of any stone sold in Pakistan. Two stones that look similar on a phone screen…
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Garnet pricing, species by species Why Garnets Differ in Price: Species, Colour and Size
"Garnet" is not one gem but a family of related minerals, and that is the first thing to understand about its price. A deep red almandine, a…
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The price drivers behind sunstone Why Sunstone Prices Differ: Glitter, Colour and Cut
Sunstone owes its sparkle to tiny flat crystals inside the stone that catch the light like scattered gold flakes. How many of those flakes t…
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Understanding jade before you buy Yashab for First-Time Buyers: Jadeite, Nephrite and Look-Alikes
Jade (yashab) is a trickier first purchase than most stones, not because it is rare in the market but because the word covers two different…
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What shapes the cost of zard aqeeq Yellow Agate Pricing: Natural Colour, Glow and Finish
Yellow agate, sold as zard aqeeq, is one of the more affordable aqeeq stones, but prices still vary from stone to stone. Most of that differ…
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For buyers new to coloured stones Your First Purple Sapphire: A Plain-English Buying Guide
Purple sapphire is the same mineral as blue neelam and red yaqoot: corundum, coloured violet to purple by trace elements. If you have never…
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Quality, treatments, certificates and fair prices How to Buy a Genuine Gemstone in Pakistan: A Step-by-Step Guide
Short answer: decide what the stone is for, judge it mainly on colour (then clarity, cut and weight), ask directly about treatment, compare…
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How to judge the red variety of corundum Ruby (Yaqoot) Explained: Colour, Origin, Treatment and Value
Short answer: a ruby is red corundum, coloured by chromium, and its value depends above all on colour – a vivid, pure to slightly purplish r…
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Inclusions, treatments and the tell-tale signs How to Identify a Natural Emerald (Zamurd / Panna)
Short answer: a natural emerald nearly always shows inclusions under a 10x loupe – wispy healed fractures, tiny crystals, and in some stones…
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Birthstones with their Urdu names and meanings What Is My Birthstone? A Month-by-Month Finder
Short answer: January is garnet, February amethyst, March aquamarine, April diamond, May emerald, June pearl or moonstone (and alexandrite)…
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Safe home checks and when you need a laboratory Real or Fake? How to Check a Gemstone Before You Buy
Short answer: you can screen out most fakes at home with a 10x loupe, daylight and common sense. Natural stones usually show small inclusion…
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Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Madagascar and more Where Blue Sapphire (Neelam) Comes From: A Guide to Origins
Short answer: most fine blue sapphire sold today comes from Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Madagascar, with Myanmar (Burma) supplying smaller quanti…
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The story behind every month's gemstone Birthstones Explained: History, Meaning and How to Choose
Short answer: the modern birthstone list gives each calendar month one or more gemstones – garnet for January through to turquoise, tanzanit…
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