Last week, whilst publicly speaking about ‘diamonds‘, I was asked some interesting questions about the Kimberley Process. It is not an easy subject to tackle so I felt it would be easier to explain by writing it down. What are conflict diamonds? These days, most people are aware of the term ‘conflict’ or ‘blood’ diamonds – diamonds mined and sold to fund violent civil discord in countries like Sierra Leone,  Angola and the Central African Republic.  The United Nations defines

I’m very excited to announce my next talk on the topic of buying diamonds; a gemstone close to my heart. Here’s a small excerpt from the book Buying Gemstones & Jewellery Worldwide: Conflict diamonds Even if you are not a diamond connoisseur, you will probably have heard the term ‘conflict’ or ‘blood’ diamonds and are aware that diamonds have been fuelling civil wars. Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, the Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Central African Republic, and the De

We all love a good story, but as a gemmologist I’m particularly fascinated by gemstone myths.  Each time I hear a new story, it makes me see the gem in a different light.  Here are some of my favourites… Opal: This lovely gemstone myth feels very timely as my new book Buying Gemstones and Jewellery in Australia, which focuses on opals, comes out in January 2019.  The Australian Aboriginal peoples have many wonderful tales to tell about Australia’s national gemstone, but this

How much do you know about buying jewellery in India? So far, my travels and research in the name of the Gemstone Detective have taken me to Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Australia.  India is next on the calendar! I will fly to India on November 12th, 2018.  The book, Buying Gemstones & Jewellery in India will officially be published on 14th May, 2019. Would you recognise the difference between a real gemstone and a piece of cheap fakery? The aim of this series is to help