Questions we get asked.

Every stone comes from a single inherited collection assembled over more than forty years. The collector bought from gem shows, estate sales, mineral dealers, and occasionally direct from the people who mined them. Where an origin is known, it’s on the listing.

Natural and untreated unless the listing explicitly says otherwise. Any treatment — heat, irradiation, oiling, filling — is disclosed upfront, and anything synthetic or simulant is labelled as such in the title and the description. What treatments mean →

Within 1–2 business days from the USA, tracked. Each stone is packed in a protective gem jar with foam lining and arrives with a printed description card carrying its documented properties. Free US shipping on orders over $35, which most single stones clear.

Yes — 14 days on most items, in the original gem jar and condition. Return shipping is the buyer’s responsibility unless the stone was misidentified or arrived damaged. Full returns policy →

You get the measurements: refractive index and specific gravity where tested, Mohs hardness, treatment status, and a plain statement of how confident we are in the identification. If we’re still confirming something, the listing says so. You’re welcome to have any stone independently verified after purchase.

Yes. Message us and we’ll send additional photographs, images under different lighting, or a short clip rotating the stone. We’d rather answer three questions first than process a return.

A cabochon is polished into a smooth dome with no flat faces — good for bezel settings, wire wrapping, and an organic look. A faceted stone has cut planes that return light, which is what produces sparkle, and it usually suits prong settings. Full explanation →

We specialize in loose stones and don’t do settings in house. We will happily give you every measurement a bench jeweller needs, and we’re glad to point you toward people our maker customers use.

For makers and designers buying several stones, yes. Tell us what you’re building and the sizes you need, and we’ll put together a custom parcel priced for bench work. Request a custom parcel →

We photograph each stone individually, in natural and studio light, so what you see is the stone you receive. Gemstones do interact with light, though: a stone can read differently in sunlight than indoors, and colour-shift stones like alexandrite change by design. Where a stone has that property, the listing says so.