About
Materials & sourcing
Four materials, and what we can prove about each one.
Gold
We work in 22k, 21k, 18k and 14k. Karat is a measure of purity, not quality: 22k is 91.7% gold, 18k is 75%. Purer gold is softer, warmer in colour and worth more per gram.
We use 22k for plain chains, bangles and anything where the metal is the point. We use 18k wherever a stone has to be held, because a claw in 22k will bend. Nothing on this site is plated or filled unless the product name says vermeil.
| 22K | 91.7% gold · 916 hallmark |
|---|---|
| 21K | 87.5% gold · 875 hallmark |
| 18K | 75.0% gold · 750 hallmark |
| 14K | 58.5% gold · 585 hallmark |
Every piece is hallmarked and assayed by the Dubai Central Laboratory. The gram weight printed on the product page is the finished weight, stones included where they are set into the body.
Lab-grown diamonds
A lab-grown diamond is carbon in the same crystal structure as a mined one. Same hardness, same refraction, same grading scale. A gemmologist needs machine testing to tell them apart. It is not a simulant, and we never call it one.
Ours are CVD-grown in India and the UAE, and graded individually by IGI. The certificate number ships with the order. You pay roughly a third of the mined price for the same specification, which is why most of our diamonds are grown.
| Cut | Round brilliant, excellent |
|---|---|
| Colour | D–F |
| Clarity | VS1 or better |
| Certification | IGI, per stone |
We do sell mined diamonds on request for bespoke work. They cost more, they take longer to source, and we will tell you both numbers before you commit.
Coloured stones
Emeralds from Zambia, sapphires from Sri Lanka, rubies from Mozambique. All natural, all bought through dealers who can name the mine.
Nearly every emerald on the market is oiled to fill surface fractures. Ours are too. That is normal and accepted, and it is the reason you never put an emerald in an ultrasonic cleaner. We say so on the product page rather than in a footnote.
Pearls
Freshwater cultured, drilled and knotted by hand on silk. The Gulf built its economy on pearling before oil, and the natural beds are effectively gone, so anyone selling you a natural Gulf pearl at a normal price is not selling you a natural Gulf pearl.
What we cannot yet prove
Our gold is refined from mixed recycled and newly mined supply. We buy from LBMA-accredited refiners, which means the supply chain is audited, but it does not mean we can trace a specific gram back to a specific mine. Anyone who tells you they can, at this price, is guessing.
We would rather say that than print a word like "ethical" and leave it undefined.