Guides
What a jeweller would tell you across the counter, written down. Free to read, no account needed.
How to tell if a diamond is real
The home tests that mean something, the ones that do not, and what a loupe, a dual tester or a laboratory can actually settle about your stone.
How to read gold hallmarks: 375, 585 and 750
What the three-digit fineness numbers mean, the marks struck beside them, and why a missing hallmark is weaker evidence than most people assume.
925, 800 and the silver marks that mean something
What 925, 958, 800 and 900 mean, the lion passant and the assay office towns, and how to separate solid silver from plate by wear, weight and a magnet.
Your ring has no hallmark. What that does and does not mean
Small pieces are legally exempt, marks wear off and resizing removes them. What an unmarked ring does and does not prove, and the tests that settle it.
What is my jewellery worth? Melt, resale and retail
Why one piece has three different values, how melt is calculated from weight and fineness, and what a second-hand diamond ring really fetches.
Lab-grown or natural? What a photograph can and cannot show
Lab-grown and natural diamonds are the same material, so no photograph or home test separates them. What growth type, girdle inscriptions and a lab can show.
Real, cultured or plastic? Testing a strand of pearls
Natural, cultured and imitation pearls differ in ways you can check: the tooth test, the drill hole under a loupe, surface, weight and first touch.
Heated, oiled, filled: treatments and what they cost you
Heat, oil, glass filling, diffusion and dye: which gemstone treatments the trade expects, which ones destroy value, and what only a laboratory settles.
How to photograph jewellery so it can be identified
Diffuse daylight, a plain mid-tone background, a macro of the hallmark and a side view of the stone. A practical checklist for photographing jewellery.
Inherited jewellery: what to do first
Do not clean it. Photograph everything as found, keep the boxes and papers, list before you divide, and get the valuation basis right before anyone sells.
Where to sell jewellery, and what each route takes
Scrap buyer, pawnbroker, jeweller, consignment, auction, marketplace or specialist: what each route takes out of the price, and how long each one takes.
Insuring jewellery: what your insurer actually needs
Insurers want retail replacement, not resale or melt. What a valuation document must contain, when to revalue, and what happens when you come to claim.
How to tell platinum from white gold: hallmarks, wear and weight
How to tell platinum from white gold by hallmark stamps (950 vs 750), heft, rhodium wear, scratch patina, and what each is worth on the secondary and melt markets.
The diamond 4Cs explained: Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat
How the diamond 4Cs work together, which C matters most to the eye, how grades translate to resale value, and what can and cannot be estimated without a laboratory.
Moissanite vs Diamond: Fire, Hardness, Testers and Value
Compare moissanite and diamond. Learn about double refraction, the rainbow fire effect, thermal diamond testers, 9.25 vs 10 hardness, and price differences.
How to Clean Jewellery at Home: Gold, Silver, Pearls and Gems
Safe home jewelry cleaning guide. Learn which metals and stones can take ultrasonic cleaners, warm soapy water, or polishing cloths without risking damage.
Open the drawer.
The piece you have never looked up is the one worth photographing first.