Emerald has many special qualities, but coloured stone professionals generally agree that emeralds are most of all, about colour. Subtle variations make significant differences in value. COLOUR IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY FACTOR FOR EMERALD The most desirable emerald colours are bluish green to pure green, with vivid colour saturation and tone that’s not too dark. This perfect colour balance makes Colombian and Brazilian emeralds in particular so popular. The most-prized em

How did it Start? I believe it all started before I was born, actually. My mother has always loved exquisite fine jewellery but it’s always been out of her reach. She also shared with me how she was secretly hoping to receive jewellery from her family, which never happened. She even had a book about gemstones at home, which I liked a lot as a little girl. As a professional artist she would paint daily looking at her hands and imagining that there were beautiful rings on her f

Moissanite sells for about a tenth of what mined diamonds do but the two gems have strikingly similar appearance and durability. Moissanite was originally discovered in its natural form in the late 19th century by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Henri Moissan at an Arizona meteorite strike site called Canyon Diablo (Devil’s Canyon). Moissan originally mistaken the moissanite fragments for diamonds, but later fell under the new rock’s spell and devoted his life to recreating it. F

Sustainability is an important consideration If you want the piece of jewellery you are wearing to benefit, not damage the world. From...

At Valeria's Secret we offer fine jewellery with ethically sourced natural mined and lab-grown gemstones. Gemmology is the science of gems, and like any proper science, it's highly complex and largely inaccessible to most people — meaning they can't easily make sense of it without expert help. Lab-grown gems are a relatively new phenomenon which often makes them misunderstood by jewellery shoppers due to seriously confusing information available. Where they are perceived as '

I originally wrote this blog post in 2019. A lot has changed since then and I highly recommend to read my more recent posts on the subject as well. It's even interesting to look back and track what was then, comparing it to what is now. Below is the historical post with my overview of diamonds and diamond simulants. It's extremely important to have a clear understanding of different gem alternatives, gem characteristics, and pricing in order to make informed decisions. Howeve