The Journal

Plain notes on buying a diamond.

What a family in the diamond trade would tell you if you sat across the table. Written down and published for anyone.

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October 28, 2026 · 5 minute read

Do diamonds hold their value? Resale, trade-up and what you would get back

What a lab-grown or natural diamond is worth after you buy it, what you would get if you sold one, and how our trade-up works.

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October 28, 2026 · 5 minute read

Gold karats explained: 9K to 24K, and platinum

What the number on a ring means, how much gold is in each karat, why 9K and 10K are back, and how gold compares to platinum.

metalsgoldplatinumbuying

October 28, 2026 · 5 minute read

What a diamond costs in Canada right now

Lab-grown and natural, carat by carat, read off our live stone list: the median price, the spread, and how many times more a natural stone costs.

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September 2, 2026 · 6 minute read

IGI, GIA or HRD: which report to ask for in Canada

What each laboratory is, which report to expect on a natural stone and which on a lab-grown one, and how to verify the paper before you pay.

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September 2, 2026 · 6 minute read

Lab-grown diamonds in Canada: what you actually pay and why

Why the price keeps falling, what the number is made of, why the report is the best money in the sale, and what the border adds when you buy in Canada, which is nothing.

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August 21, 2026 · 10 minute read

How to buy an engagement ring in Vancouver

A calm, order-of-operations guide from a working house: budget, stone, setting, timing, and the questions to ask anyone who sells to you.

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August 21, 2026 · 7 minute read

What a diamond really costs

How this house prices: the margin philosophy, why our numbers are round, and why the stone feed is not.

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August 21, 2026 · 8 minute read

From the Cutting Floor

Five generations in the diamond trade, an education in Surat, and what it means to read a stone.

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July 23, 2026 · 10 minute read

Natural or lab-grown: how to decide

Both are diamonds. Only one is rare. We sell both, and this is how we would decide.

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