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All about gems Inside the industry
Paraiba Tourmaline: Some of My Investment Gems
Yvonne Raley – Jul 2, 2026
Having blogged about investment gems several times this year, I would now like to share with you some of the …
Inside the industry
Buying with Confidence: The AGTA Advantage
Yvonne Raley – Jul 2, 2026
We joined the American Gem Trade Association about a decade ago, but we’ve rarely taken the opportunity to advertise the …
How to value magic Inside the industry
Inside the Rising Market for Colored Gems
Yvonne Raley – May 21, 2026
The secret seems to be out: colored gemstones have made significant progress catching up to the diamond market in the …
Adventures abroad All about gems Inside the industry
Bogota 2026: Emeralds, Investments, Inflation
Yvonne Raley – May 14, 2026
I was actually going on vacation in the Atacama Desert, Chile, on a farewell journey with my gem buddy Jochen …
All about gems Inside the industry
The Other Green Garnet: Mali
Yvonne Raley – Apr 30, 2026
In contrast to the green of emerald or even Paraiba and other tourmaline, green garnets generally have a warmer tone …
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Match as Match Can: Finding a Topaz for a Missing Earring
Yvonne Raley – Mar 25, 2026
It’s not an uncommon demand for a jeweler: “I lost an earring, can you find me a matching gem to …
All about gems Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
Our Tucson HAUL: Broke but Happy
Yvonne Raley – Feb 25, 2026
Like so many of us, my expectations for Tucson were fairly “thumbs down”. Tariffs deter vendors from traveling with merchandise …
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Who Pays for My Broken Stone? The Risks and Realities of Gemstone Setting
Yvonne Raley – Feb 25, 2026
Jewelry setting is a precise craft that requires skill, patience and delicacy. Yet even the most experienced setters occasionally crack …
Inside the industry
The New Gold Rush: How You can Profit!
Yvonne Raley – Feb 24, 2026
Let’s put this title into perspective first. Gold has gone up 60% in 2025, which is likely to be the …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
Tariffs Hit Tucson: Inside the 2026 Gem Shows
Yvonne Raley – Feb 24, 2026
Late January is approaching fast, and so is my Tucson trip. I cannot wait to go as this month its …
Inside the industry
Let the Games Begin: How to Buy Gems Cheaply in a Bargain Culture
– Sep 25, 2025
For most people who are born into a fixed price culture, it is an entirely new experience to make purchases …
Inside the industry
The Unofficial JCK Report: Prepping for the Tariff Hikes
– Jun 19, 2025
This year I went to Las Vegas for 3 days only. A few of my usual vendors decided to sit …
Inside the industry
How Tariffs Affect the Jewelry Industry
– May 8, 2025
As you probably know by now, at CRD we make all our jewelry here in the United States. Each of our manufacturing partners – …
Inside the industry Life beyond the sparkle Our story
Etsy’s Identity Crisis: Fulfilment Center or Meta-Brand?
– Oct 17, 2024
Cecile Raley Designs has been on Etsy since 2009. I didn’t even know what Etsy was back then, but someone …
All about gems How to value magic Inside the industry
When ‘Rare’ Goes Mainstream: Colored Gems' Market Share
Yvonne Raley – May 15, 2024
In the spring of 2022, everyone wanted to buy emerald cut teal sapphire. This year it is blueish purple and …
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The Rise and Fall of Grandidierite
Yvonne Raley – Feb 28, 2024
One of the ten rarest minerals on earth! That’s how grandidierite has been advertised in the last decade or so, …
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Tucson Gem Market: What's In and What's Out – February 2024
Yvonne Raley – Feb 12, 2024
For the gem dealer, gems are exactly what the title of this blog suggests: a financial instrument which, if purchased …
All about gems Design with us Inside the industry
Benitoite: A Rare Prize for Gem Collectors
Yvonne Raley – Jan 22, 2024
Somewhere about half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco, along the coast of California, you will find the rolling …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
How We Shop in Tucson on a Budget
Yvonne Raley – Jan 10, 2024
2024 marks my 9th annual trip to Tucson, and there have been a lot of changes since I first started. …
All about gems Inside the industry
Kornerupine: One of Our Best Kept Secrets!
Yvonne Raley – Dec 18, 2023
Kornerupine is a gem that had a very short heyday, and mostly in my own shop. This tells you a …
All about gems Inside the industry
Cameras are not Eyes: How to Buy Gems Online
Yvonne Raley – Dec 6, 2023
As a fully online seller, you can imagine how often I am asked for more photos and videos of my …
Adventures abroad Inside the industry
Buying on Location: Gem Shopping in Sri Lanka
Yvonne Raley – Aug 20, 2023
My clients say this to me all the time: “it’s cheaper to buy on location, right?” And I have heard …
Adventures abroad Inside the industry
From Mining to Markets: Sri Lanka’s Gem Industry
Yvonne Raley – Aug 14, 2023
Gem mining has always been a rugged business. It involves hard and uncomfortable physical labor, high risk of injury, and …
Adventures abroad Inside the industry
Sri Lanka: The Treasure Hunter’s Holy Grail
Yvonne Raley – Aug 9, 2023
For over 2,500 years, Sri Lanka has been known for its wealth of precious gems. In particular, the Ratnapura area …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
What Happens in Vegas Doesn’t Stay There!
Yvonne Raley – Jun 14, 2023
This is probably the first question you have and so I will answer it right away: Yes. Prices are up. …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
Glamor, Glitz & Gems: JCK Las Vegas
Yvonne Raley – May 15, 2023
I almost decided not to go. Flight and hotel together will run me 2K, never mind food and drink, plus …
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Gem Hunts and the Law of Diminishing Returns: How and When to Compromise
Yvonne Raley – May 1, 2023
I’m sure you have noticed this too but prices in the gem world have been nuts lately, and while the …
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Ethically Sourced Gemstones and Artisanal Mining: A Contradiction?
Yvonne Raley – Apr 5, 2023
Etsy recently implemented a sustainability feature that allows sellers to click on an attribute that marks an item as ‘recycled’ …
Inside the industry Life beyond the sparkle Our story
Is Etsy Worth it Anymore? A Comparison to Shopify…
Yvonne Raley – Mar 6, 2023
A very long time ago I wrote a blog entitled “Can You Live off Etsy?” It was one of my …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
Tucson Treasures 2023: Catch Them if you Can…
Yvonne Raley – Feb 15, 2023
This year I went to Tucson with very low expectations, and a correspondingly low budget. As I’ve previously reported, supply …
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The Art of Sourcing High End Stones: Tips and Pitfalls
Yvonne Raley – Jan 16, 2023
Yes, from the retail perspective, 2022 was a relatively quiet year. People got the message about prices for everything increasing …
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Gemstones Travel the World: New Gems from Madagascar and their Many Adventures!
Yvonne Raley – Dec 21, 2022
I announced their arrival somewhat prematurely in the fall of 2021, right before all exports from Madagascar stopped because of …
All about gems How to value magic Inside the industry
Knowing When to Sell Your Colored Gemstones (& When to Wait!)
Yvonne Raley – Dec 5, 2022
A couple of months ago I asked one of my gem sellers if I could “memo” (i.e. the jewelry trade …
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The Magic of Highly-Skilled Gem Setters
Yvonne Raley – Oct 12, 2022
‘Prong pusher’ is a rather derogatory term and not entirely fair, as 99% of jewelry sold on the mass market …
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Sparkling Treasures from Denver: Pinks, Purples, Blues… and Color Changers!
Yvonne Raley – Sep 29, 2022
You might think that Denver’s all about the Rocky Mountains and hiking, right? Not about going to gem shows. However, …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
Putting the Color in Colorado: Denver Gem and Mineral Show 2022
Yvonne Raley – Aug 29, 2022
Yes, CRD is travelling again, to Denver this time. The gem shows there in September have become a staple of …
All about gems How to value magic Inside the industry
Investing in Precious Gems: What You Need to Know
Yvonne Raley – Jul 6, 2022
If you feel the way I do about 2022 so far, then you’ll agree we live in very unpredictable times. …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
Desert Treasures: Juicy Gems from Sin City
Yvonne Raley – Jun 23, 2022
This was my first time back in Las Vegas since 2019. In 2020, the JCK and AGTA shows were cancelled, …
All about gems Inside the industry
Return to Emerald City: A Tale of Two Mountains
Yvonne Raley – May 31, 2022
 I really longed to go to Colombia again, even though I didn’t have a pressing reason to spend any more …
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A Cut Above: The Decision Making Behind Colored Gemstone Shapes
Yvonne Raley – May 19, 2022
It’s schizophrenic really, and it’s true of 90% of colored gems; they don’t fit into prefabricated settings, so you end …
All about gems How to value magic Inside the industry
The New “Gold” Rush: Colored Gems
Yvonne Raley – Mar 28, 2022
If you’ve been buying gems in the last few months, you will have noticed that gemstone prices have been sharply …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
Show & Tell: 2022 Tucson Treasures Revealed!
Yvonne Raley – Feb 17, 2022
Everyone wants to know about what I saw, how it was, who was there, how busy it was, etc. in …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
Too Soon for Tucson? The Reality of Gem Buying in 2022
Yvonne Raley – Jan 12, 2022
I either have antibodies already, or I am the luckiest person on earth, having traveled to Germany 7x since Covid …
All about gems Inside the industry
Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Rarest of Them All?
Yvonne Raley – Dec 2, 2021
Last week I received a request to make a rare gemstone pendant for a birthday girl. The buyer provided me …
Adventures abroad All about gems Inside the industry
Adventures in Emerald City, Part II (Muzo, Cosquez, Guataque & Chivor)
Yvonne Raley – Oct 28, 2021
So here we were, the three of us, in the dark in a small foreign town, just following two total …
Adventures abroad All about gems Inside the industry
OUT- Adventures in Emerald City, Part II (Muzo, Cosquez, Guataque & Chivor)
Yvonne Raley – Oct 21, 2021
So here we were, the three of us, in the dark in a small foreign town, just following two total …
Adventures abroad All about gems Inside the industry
Adventures in Emerald City: Gem Hunting in Bogota, Part I
Yvonne Raley – Oct 17, 2021
TWO years! That’s how long I had to wait to go to Colombia again. But I did it, and with …
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The Hidden Jewels of Afghanistan
Yvonne Raley – Sep 13, 2021
Ravaged by decades of off and on war and religious oppression, Afghanistan is getting a lot of negative attention lately, …
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From Start to Finish: Fine Jewelry Production in the Diamond District
Yvonne Raley – Jul 15, 2021
So yes, I operate out of the basement of my house.  I’m the creator, designer, inventor, and owner of Cecile …
All about gems Design with us How to value magic Inside the industry
The Great Padparadscha Debate PLUS Sapphire Tales from Denver
Yvonne Raley – May 27, 2021
The May Denver gem show is actually fairly tiny, even during non-covid times.  But with nothing else big coming up …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
Sea Change in the Desert: True Signs of Gem Show Recovery in Tucson
Yvonne Raley – Apr 22, 2021
I really didn’t expect it but Tucson was hoppin’ this year! Yes, there were fewer shows, fewer vendors and virtually …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
A New Year, a New Dawn… And A New Tucson
Yvonne Raley – Mar 30, 2021
Ok so it’s a kind of mini-Tucson.  There will be several shows: 22nd Street Show, Mineral City, Pueblo Show, JOGS, …
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How We Source Stuff: Hunting for Gemstone Treasures
Yvonne Raley – Mar 11, 2021
Since Cecile Raley Designs started selling gems on Etsy, the number of shops offering cut stones online has pretty much …
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How we Make Stuff, Continued: Wax Model, CAD Model, or Hand Fabrication?
Yvonne Raley – Feb 18, 2021
As I briefly discussed in my previous blog, Cecile Raley Designs primarily designs jewelry using CAD.  This is probably the most …
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Colored Gems are not Diamonds: How We Make Stuff, Differently
Yvonne Raley – Feb 5, 2021
It happens to us at CRD all the time: a client with a low budget asks for raw castings so …
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Fortune Favors the Brave: Treasures Unearthed at The Denver Show During a Pandemic
Yvonne Raley – Oct 1, 2020
Somewhat belatedly, here’s my review from the Denver gem shows: I arrived two days before the shows started because I …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
Travel During a Pandemic: How I Got Around the Denver Shows Safely
Yvonne Raley – Sep 16, 2020
Travel certainly has changed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in certain respects, this has been for the better.  …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
The Shows Must Go On: Heading to Denver Shows During COVID
Yvonne Raley – Aug 28, 2020
Yes, I’m going to actually do this!   I am heading out to Colorado on September 9th for four days to …
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The Small Apple Inside the Big Apple: The Web of Cultures in the Diamond District
Yvonne Raley – Aug 6, 2020
Midtown Manhattan is quiet these days; subway rides are down 85%, restaurants are shuttered, food carts diminished or vanished entirely, …
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Spinel Spinel Spinel: Origins and Colors Explained
Yvonne Raley – Jun 18, 2020
I’m not sure if you know, but about two years ago spinel was added to the list of birthstones. It now …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
The Show Must Go On: Vegas in New Jersey
Yvonne Raley – May 20, 2020
As advertised in our previous newsletter, we have decided that even though the Las Vegas show is cancelled, we will …
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Logistics for the Longer Haul: The New Normal at Cecile Raley Designs
Yvonne Raley – Apr 30, 2020
I could probably make this a one-line blog: where we are at right now is where we have been over …
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Buckle Up; It's Going to Be a Bumpy Ride…
Yvonne Raley – Apr 16, 2020
COVID-19 and the International Gem Business As the world continues to be on pause, I’ve checked in with everyone overseas …
Design with us Inside the industry Life beyond the sparkle
What New York City On Pause Looks Like: The Diamond District Shutdown
Yvonne Raley – Mar 26, 2020
Covid-19 Week 2: How the Jewelry Industry is Coping with the Shutdown   A week seems like a lifetime ago.  …
Adventures abroad Inside the industry Life beyond the sparkle Our story
Travel or Not? Possible Plans and Some Corona Induced Industry Challenges
Yvonne Raley – Mar 5, 2020
  Ring Featuring Colombian Emerald from Chivor So this was supposed to be a blog about my upcoming trip to …
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Tucson Gem Haul: Find Out What's Coming to the Shop, Before it Gets There!
Yvonne Raley – Feb 13, 2020
My panshir emerald melee is now sorted (see below,) I’ll be offering sizes from 1mm-2mm in small batches.  Some small …
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Greetings from Chilly Tucson!
Yvonne Raley – Feb 6, 2020
Hello from frigid Tucson where the last two days have been colder than they are in NJ!  Still we are …
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Pack your Virtual Bags: You’re Coming to Tucson with Us!
Yvonne Raley – Jan 20, 2020
Hooker Emerald Brooch, designed by Tiffany & Co, previously exhibited at Tucson Gem & Mineral Show & worth $5,000,000 USD!!! …
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On the Meaning of "Family" in the Gem Trade…
Yvonne Raley – Dec 19, 2019
This is a sort of holiday blog entry because the holidays are when we gather around family to celebrate. It’s …
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The Story of Cecile Raley Designs: Tucson, Africa and Colombia
Yvonne Raley – Nov 6, 2019
The year was 2013. I was driving to work, and just as I turned off the highway, a huge billboard …
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The Emeralds of Chivor
Yvonne Raley – Aug 7, 2019
On Thursday, our 6th day in Colombia, we got up early with the intention of managing the drive from Muzo …
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Colombia Part I. Bogota and Muzo
Yvonne Raley – Jul 28, 2019
A lush countryside, a rich history of gold and conquest, delicate indiginous art, well-preserved ancient Spanish towns, and the lure …
Adventures abroad All about gems Inside the industry
New Travels Ahead: Emerald Hunting in Colombia
Yvonne Raley – Jul 9, 2019
It’s summer again and I am ready to explore a new location for gems: Colombia.  On Saturday July 13th, I …
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Setting Secrets Exposed: What Happens to Your Custom Project in Setting
Yvonne Raley – Jun 27, 2019
I don’t know if you have noticed but the diamond district tends to be very secretive about what happens behind …
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From Venice to The Venetian: CRD Heads to Vegas
Yvonne Raley – May 23, 2019
Still jet lagged from my recent trip to Venice, I am already packing my bags again!  The Las Vegas AGTA …
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Alternative Engagement Rings: Five Reasons to Opt Out of the Diamond Market
Yvonne Raley – Apr 22, 2019
So you may have noticed that we started a bridal section on Etsy where we are in the process of …
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New Season, New Items, and We Welcome Your Contributions
Yvonne Raley – Mar 28, 2019
So with the spring season under way, we’ve been busy developing new pretties, mainly for your fingers, but also for …
All about gems How to value magic Inside the industry
What’s up with all these “new” Emeralds: Emerald Origins Revisited
Yvonne Raley – Mar 14, 2019
As you may know, emerald is one of my favorite gems.  So, it should be somewhat surprising that I have …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
Tucson: The Aftermath
Yvonne Raley – Feb 21, 2019
Initially, it looked like our office had been bombed by dozens of small gem jars, miniature plastic bags holding valuable …
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Tucson is ON: Where we are going and what we are buying
Yvonne Raley – Jan 31, 2019
By the time this blog is up, the final countdown is on.  Monday the 3rd we are leaving for our …
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What's Ahead for 2019?
Yvonne Raley – Jan 10, 2019
Our Newly Minted American Gem Trade Membership, and YES, CRD’s Ten Year Anniversary Bash I hope all of you had …
Adventures abroad Inside the industry Life beyond the sparkle Our story
Our Own Christmas Story
Yvonne Raley – Dec 3, 2018
In the spirit of this season of giving, we would like to dedicate this blog to our friends in Madagascar, …
Adventures abroad All about gems Inside the industry
Finding New Minerals in Kongwa
Yvonne Raley – Oct 2, 2018
So this is going to be a longer story, and it starts a few billion years ago.  As my geologist …
Adventures abroad All about gems Inside the industry
Gem Buying in Tanzania: Rubies Rubies Rubies
Yvonne Raley – Sep 5, 2018
As promised, let me tell you about the gems I saw, or didn’t see, in Tanzania: on my second day, …
Adventures abroad Inside the industry
Visiting Kenya and Tanzania
Yvonne Raley – Sep 5, 2018
Kenya Our next destination after Madagascar was Nairobi, Kenya, where I planned a long overdue reunion with my friend Doreen.  …
Adventures abroad Inside the industry
A Little Trip (Madagascar Part IV)
Yvonne Raley – Aug 19, 2018
Thursday afternoon two interesting bits of news reached us.  The first: There had been a new find of tourmaline near …
Adventures abroad All about gems Inside the industry
Madagascar Gem Shopping (Part III)
Yvonne Raley – Aug 15, 2018
On my second day gem shopping in Antsirabe, I bought one piece of purple spinel from Ilakaka, 1.1 cts, and a …
Adventures abroad All about gems Inside the industry
Madagascar – A New Trip, New Experiences, New Gems (Part I)
Yvonne Raley – Aug 7, 2018
The first destination on my most recent trip to Madagascar was the Island of Nosy Be, slightly to the northwest …
Adventures abroad All about gems Inside the industry
Africa Revisited – A New Trip
Yvonne Raley – Jul 1, 2018
I can’t believe it came upon me so fast.  This coming Monday I am leaving on my second trip to Africa.  I …
All about gems How to value magic Inside the industry
Emeralds Revisited – New Arrivals, New Origins and A Word about Treatment
Yvonne Raley – May 24, 2018
I haven’t talked about emeralds for some time and with the Las Vegas Gem Show coming up I should do …
All about gems How to value magic Inside the industry
Sapphire Treatments: What Matters and What Doesn’t  (By Yvonne Raley and Inken Krause)
Yvonne Raley – Apr 5, 2018
Every month I give sapphires to my lab to certify that a sapphire is unheated, which is essential for my …
All about gems How to value magic Inside the industry
Gem Lab Reports: Some FAQs
Yvonne Raley – Feb 28, 2018
As you’ve probably noticed, Cecile Raley Designs provides certificates with certain gems, or we offer to provide one upon request.  …
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Jewelry Laser Surgery: The Alternative to Solder
Yvonne Raley – Dec 7, 2017
Many of you have heard me talk about lasering jewelry, or laser soldering, over the years.  Time to devote some …
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A traveler's report on the world of gems
Yvonne Raley – Nov 2, 2017
A German traveler’s report on the world of gems Manhattan’s 47th Street rightfully deserves the name “Diamond District”: shops for …
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What does “recycled metal” really mean? What we do and don’t do when it comes to recycling
Yvonne Raley – Oct 26, 2017
This blog entry is prompted by a couple of recent questions about working with recycled metals.  Etsy now offers a …
All about gems How to value magic Inside the industry
Rare Gemstones – A Seller's Market
Yvonne Raley – Oct 5, 2017
Anecdote:  in late summer I got a call for a 4+ carat lagoon tourmaline of a very specific cut and …
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Opals: Some thoughts on their special allure and their challenges for the jeweler
Yvonne Raley – Aug 17, 2017
Opals:  Some Thoughts on Their Special Allure and their Challenges for the Jeweler If you’ve been following my shop for …
All about gems Design with us How to value magic Inside the industry
Russian Demantoid: What’s the Deal with Horsetail Inclusions?
Yvonne Raley – Jun 26, 2017
As many of you know, I have been selling quite a few Russian demantoids on my site in the last …
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Pave Setting – Hand Set versus Pre Cut
Yvonne Raley – Dec 23, 2016
I thought I’d devote this blog entry to my why my setter Pierre has lost his hair.  Or so he …
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From Kashmir to Tanzania: How to Pick a Sapphire
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
September is sapphire month, and although I personally think that birthstone jewelry is just a sales trick, I will start …
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A word about natural gemstones
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
So I practically got yelled at. This was by a gemstone dealer at a jewelry show last spring, in response …
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On Cutting a Stone: Chronicles of a Tsavorite
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
Some of my fellow jewelers have been asked if they cut their own stones.  And a friend of mine once …
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Chronicles of a Tsavorite: Part II
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
In my previous entry, I started to take you through the process of cutting a gemstone.  I picked a Tsavorite …
All about gems How to value magic Inside the industry
Dime a Dozen or Hard to Find?
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
It really took me a while to get the hang of determining which gemstones are rare and which aren’t.  This …
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Rubies for the Masses – Glass Filled!
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
You might have heard about glass filled ruby scams on the news, they were a big story last year.  Or you read about them …
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December Birthstones: Is Tanzanite a Good Buy?
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
As most of you who read my blog know, I don’t think much of birthstones.  My own birthstone is pearl, …
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Garnets and the other Garnets
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
January is garnet month, or so the Jeweler’s Association says, at any rate.  And if you are thinking red or …
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Emeralds: Before the Oil, After the Oil, and After That
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
So my gemstone dealer D. and I decided to conduct an experiment.  It was an ancient one, and he’s done …
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The Green Diamond
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
So this is the story as it happened.  I am got permission to write about it, but there will be …
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“Could This Gem be a Little Bigger?” (How Big is Your Wallet?)
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
I get asked the question posed in the title about once a week.  Two out of three times I don’t …
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What is an Old-Mine Gem?
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
I’d heard the term many times, but couldn’t make much of it initially.  I looked it up online, but the …
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How to Judge a Ceylon
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
It’s been an interesting year for Ceylon sapphires.  Last summer, they were fairly reasonable in price, and I bought one …
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Can You Get a Gem Like This? Some Brief Notes on Odds
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
I periodically get questions like these: can you get a 5mm princess cut blue tourmaline?  Or: do you have a …
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Addicted to Spinel
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
You must have wondered: how much more spinel can she list on her Etsy site?  Well, instead you should ask: …
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The Other Tanzanite
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
Last December I pooh-poohed Tanzanite as a bad investment.  I guess I always say what I think, even if it …
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How to Heat a Zircon
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
My friend Anya and I were buying some stones at a gem dealer friend’s house last weekend.  When we got …
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How much would it cost in Gold?
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
This is a common question, but it has a disappointing answer: too much, for the most part.  14K gold is …
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Getting Cheated: How to Avoid Buying Fake Alex
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
It happens; it can even be unintentional.  You buy some alex, you and the seller think it’s real, and then …
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Buying Sphene
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
I usually try to stay away from the softer gemstones – after too many experiences of them falling apart on …
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Working with CAD
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
Have you ever wondered how it is that some Etsy shops carry designs that look commercial but claim to be …
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Vintage Diamonds
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
If you read my blog, you know that I am infatuated with old stuff.  I like old mine colored gems, …
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The Confusing World of Garnets: Varieties and Availability
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
Garnets, to me, are some of the most “disorganized” gems available on the market today.  Their sheer variety, but also …
All about gems Design with us Inside the industry
Where does my Tanzanite Come From?
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
It is rare that one gets much insight into the actual method by which gemstones arrive at the gem dealer’s …
Design with us Inside the industry
Some Thoughts on the Challenge of Making Custom Quotes
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
Now that I have so many gemstones for sale, I get considerably more requests for custom quotes than I did …
Design with us Inside the industry
The Trouble with Photos
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
One of the criticisms I hear the most regarding my shop is that my pictures, well – suck.  Ok, nobody …
Gem Show Shopping Inside the industry
Preparing for Tucson
Yvonne Raley – Dec 14, 2016
Even though right now I am sitting in small hotel in France, sipping red wine and enjoying the holiday markets …
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