Gemstones Editor
Jaipur, India · FGA, Gemmological Association of Great Britain
Priya grew up two streets from a Jaipur cutting workshop and has been looking at rough since she was a child. She writes about coloured stones, treatments, origin and the gap between what a certificate says and what a stone actually looks like in daylight.
Gemstones
The word crystal covers a mineral, a man-made glass and a marketing category. A gemmologist's guide to telling them apart, what quartz actually is, which treatments you are entitled to be told about, and why two stones with the same name can differ in price by a factor of fifty.
Priya Raghavan · Updated October 22, 2026
Gemstones
A gemmologist's wearability guide — the Mohs scale, why hardness is not toughness, and a 30-stone table rated for daily rings, occasional rings and pendants.
Priya Raghavan · Updated September 17, 2026
Fine Jewelry
The five pearl types with real 2026 prices, why nacre thickness outranks every other factor, how to tell cultured from imitation, and the honest limits.
Priya Raghavan · Updated September 17, 2026
Gemstones
All twelve modern birthstones plus the traditional and alternative lists — hardness, treatment, price per carat, care requirements and the honest reason each stone costs what it does.
Priya Raghavan · Updated September 16, 2026
Gemstones
Moissanite versus diamond compared properly — dispersion, hardness, colour, real 2026 prices, resale, and how to tell them apart without a laboratory.
Priya Raghavan · Updated September 17, 2026
Gemstones
Every major diamond cut explained — round brilliant, oval, emerald, pear, marquise, cushion, asscher, radiant and heart — with the proportions that matter, the light behaviour each produces, and what the cut actually costs you.
Priya Raghavan · Updated September 15, 2026
Gemstones
An emerald buying guide from a gemmologist — filler treatments and the F1 to F3 scales, Colombian versus Zambian origin, the jardin, and 2026 prices per carat.
Priya Raghavan · Updated September 16, 2026
Gemstones
A gemmologist's guide to buying sapphire in 2026 — colour bands, Kashmir versus Sri Lankan material, heat and beryllium treatment, and real prices per carat.
Priya Raghavan · Updated September 16, 2026