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Amethyst is the purple birthstone of February and one of the best-value coloured stones you can buy. It is quartz, so it is affordable even in large, clean, deeply coloured pieces. It is hard enough for jewellery but not the hardest stone around, and its one quirk is that strong sun over time can pale the purple. Here is how to choose it and keep it looking rich. We set a lot of amethyst at our Coquitlam bench, from February birthday gifts to bold cocktail rings. It is a stone that lets you go big without spending much. What amethyst...

Aquamarine is the pale blue stone of March, and it is one of the easiest coloured gems to actually live with. It is hard, usually very clean, and tough enough for everyday wear, which sets it apart from its more fragile cousin the emerald. If you want a soft, watery blue that does not need babying, aquamarine is a genuinely practical choice. We set aquamarine in rings, pendants, and earrings at our Coquitlam bench, often for March birthdays. Here is what to know about the stone before you buy. A tough member of the beryl family Aquamarine and emerald are...

Can an emerald handle life as an engagement ring? The honest answer is yes, but with more care than a diamond or a sapphire needs. Emeralds are hard enough to resist most scratches, but they are also brittle and usually full of tiny internal fractures, so they chip and crack more easily than tougher stones. Buy one with your eyes open, set it to protect the edges, and treat it gently, and an emerald ring can last for decades. We get this question a lot at our Coquitlam bench, usually from someone who has fallen for the green and wants...

A heart shaped diamond is the most openly romantic of all the shapes: a brilliant-cut stone with two rounded lobes, a cleft in the middle, and a point at the bottom. It sparkles like a round and it says exactly one thing. When it is cut well and set right, it is charming. When it is cut poorly or set too small, it can look like a blob, so the details matter more here than on almost any other shape. We set heart shapes at our Coquitlam bench for anniversaries, pendants, and the occasional bold engagement ring. Here is when...

An asscher cut diamond is a square step cut with cropped corners and a deep, hypnotic look people call the "hall of mirrors." Think of it as the square cousin of the emerald cut: same calm, glassy reflections, same clean lines, but in a square outline with a striking X pattern down the centre. It is the shape for anyone drawn to Art Deco and quiet elegance over flashy sparkle. The asscher has a real history. It was designed by the Asscher brothers in Amsterdam in the early 1900s and became a signature of the Art Deco era. We set...

A radiant cut diamond gives you the rectangular shape of an emerald cut with the bright sparkle of a round. It has trimmed corners like an emerald, but its inside is cut with brilliant faceting, so it flashes and sparkles instead of showing the calm, glassy look of a step cut. If you love the emerald outline but want more fire, the radiant is the shape built for exactly that. We set radiants often at our Coquitlam bench for people torn between an emerald and a round. It solves that argument in one stone. Here is how it works and...