News

For IGI vs GIA on lab-grown diamonds, the short version is this: both are real, independent grading labs, but as of late 2025 they report lab-grown stones very differently, and that difference is exactly what trips up shoppers. At Vanhess Jewellery in Coquitlam, BC, we only sell certified stones, and the certificate question comes up at the counter almost every day now that lab-grown is so common. Here is what each lab does and how to read what you get. A diamond certificate (the trade calls it a report, not a certificate, but everyone says certificate) is an independent lab's...

Gold vermeil, gold-filled, and solid gold are three different things, and the difference decides whether a piece lasts a season or a lifetime. If you have been shopping the "demi-fine" category online and trying to figure out what you are actually paying for, this is the breakdown we give walk-in customers at Vanhess Jewellery in Coquitlam, BC every week. Demi-fine is a marketing label, not a material. The material underneath is what matters. What "demi-fine" actually means Demi-fine sits between costume jewellery and fine jewellery. The pieces use real gold, but usually as a coating over another metal rather than...

Three clear sparkly stones sit next to each other on the tray. They look almost identical at arm's length. One costs $20, the second costs $400, and the third costs $1,800. The customer asks the question we get every week: what am I actually paying for? Here's the real comparison between cubic zirconia, moissanite, and lab-grown diamond — by the numbers that matter, with the trade-offs each one carries. The three stones in one paragraph Cubic zirconia (CZ) is zirconium dioxide, lab-made since the 1970s, originally developed for laser optics. Mohs 8.5. Very low cost. Moissanite is silicon carbide, originally...

If you've ever bought a "gold" chain online for $40 and watched it turn green in a year, you've already paid for this lesson — you just didn't get the explanation. The labels gold-plated, gold-filled, vermeil, and solid gold mean very different things, and so do sterling silver versus silver-plated. Here's what each one actually is, how long it lasts, and where it makes sense to buy each. The five terms you'll see, in order of value From cheapest and shortest-lived to most expensive and most durable: Gold-plated: a base metal (usually brass or copper) coated with a thin layer...

Pearls are the only gem grown inside a living animal, and most of what gets sold under the word "pearl" is one of four very different things. If you're buying for yourself or a gift, the difference matters — both for what you pay and for how the piece looks twenty years from now. Here's how we think about pearls at our bench in Coquitlam, and what we tell customers who come in deciding between a $180 freshwater strand and a $4,000 Akoya one. The four pearls you'll actually be choosing between Cultured pearls — meaning a human-inserted bead or...