We’re Launching Something New — and Sapphires Are Involved

Volume 9 – Summer 2024

Something has been in the works, and this issue is where it officially begins: the Simms Academy. The goal is to educate, inspire, or entertain with every communication — not to fill your inbox with reasons to buy something. The Academy is the vehicle for that promise, and the first topics on the syllabus include gemstone origins, the science of sparkle, and why metals matter more than most people think.

This issue also goes deep on two subjects worth knowing before you shop: sapphire quality (the full six-factor breakdown (color, clarity, cut, carat, origin, and treatment) written so it actually makes sense) and the value of platinum, which is denser, rarer, and more maintenance-free than most people realize. There’s also a rapid-fire gemstone trivia section, because opals contain up to 20% water, and that fact deserves to be more widely known.

Read the Summer 2024 Illuminations and find out what a 12ct Oscar Heyman DSN looks like in person →