Louped: The podcast for the gem and jewellery curious

Thank you for joining us for this special episode where Kate is accompanied by guest co-host Shaheen! We are delighted to bring you this episode featuring an industry professional actively working in the field. This episode explores the ins and outs of the diamond industry as well as the real scoop on synthetic diamonds. We also discuss some alternatives for those who don't want a diamond but do want a colourless or sparkly option. We would encourage you to visit Shaheen's website which will be listed below. We have also included her contact details if you have any follow-up questions for her. Additionally, please do see below for our contact information and Buy Me A Coffee link as well as the website for Hearth and Bellows (the maker of Kate and Cem's engagement rings). If you would like to reach Shaheen:https://sbgemmologicalsolutions.com/@sbgemsolutionsIf you would like to reach Cady with Hearth and Bellows:@hearthandbellowshttps://www.hearthandbellows.com/If you have any questions or would like to comment on an episode, you can reach us on Instagram @loupedpodcast or by email at [email protected] if you'd like to buy us a coffee, you can do so here! buymeacoffee.com/loupedpodcast

We are all about science and values for our third diamond episode of April! Last week we left off with South Africa and DeBeers as well as the marketing strategies that got us to where we are today. This week we look at the true costs incurred by the diamond market as well what we consider investment grade diamonds. We are also delighted to tease that our next and last episode of this month is a special one with a new voice, so make sure to tune in next week for the exciting conclusion of our April Diamond Season! We have of course added some additional resources below, as well as our contact details and our Buy Me A Coffee link if you feel so inclined. We hope you enjoy our third of four April episodes and are looking forward to the exciting conclusion for next week!Additional Resources:https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-4-most-expensive-yellow-diamonds-over-100-caratshttps://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-five-most-expensive-pink-diamondshttps://www.moussaieff-jewellers.com/the-house/https://www.naturaldiamonds.com/historic-diamonds/moussaieff-red-diamond/https://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/digging-diamond-types/https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/discover-type-iia-diamonds-the-most-exceptional-10-carat-diamondshttps://www.si.edu/spotlight/hope-diamond/historyhttps://www.langantiques.com/university/irradiation/?srsltid=AfmBOooHMkbnGyJqaL31b8Q1nzm131_M4KK-PLSjGNGKlaioh4fVKoH0https://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/green-diamond/https://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/nine-things-about-diamond-carat-weight-you-need-to-know/https://www.rockngem.com/what-are-herkimer-diamonds/https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8It6KFhlsBohttps://youtu.be/8It6KFhlsBo?si=dncWU1BWOsrcoMiPIf you have any questions or would like to comment on an episode, you can reach us on Instagram @loupedpodcast or by email at [email protected] if you'd like to buy us a coffee, you can do so here! buymeacoffee.com/loupedpodcast

Thank you for joining us for our second diamond episode of April! We hope you're excited for the continuation of our history episode. Last week we left off with diamond mining in Brazil, this time we pick back up with South Africa and DeBeers. We also address our modern conception of the engagement ring and answer the question 'does my engagement ring have to be a diamond?' We are also delighted to tease a special episode to be released at the end of the month. We have of course added some additional resources below, as well as our contact details and our Buy Me A Coffee link if you feel so inclined. Additionally, if you would like to explore the brilliant jeweller who made my engagement ring and who casted Cem's wedding band, we have included Cady's website in the links below. We hope you enjoy this second of four April episodes and are looking forward to our next episode when we go into science and value!Additional Resources:https://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research/historical-reading-diamond-fields-south-africa-1868-1893https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/indian-diamonds-benjamin-zucker-family-collectionhttps://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/make-the-million-dollar-leap-with-a-20-carat-diamond-ringhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32131829https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mOv-hNF_uCohttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JLJOyzAW3oohttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a1REfTIc5pohttps://www.americangemsociety.org/buying-diamonds-with-confidence/the-history-of-the-diamond-as-an-engagement-ring/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27371208https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPreyczEjb_/?igsh=MTMxYzJudzU2MXR0Zg==https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/indian-diamonds-benjamin-zucker-family-collectionhttps://www.hearthandbellows.com/If you have any questions or would like to comment on an episode, you can reach us on Instagram @loupedpodcast or by email at [email protected] if you'd like to buy us a coffee, you can do so here! buymeacoffee.com/loupedpodcast

Thank you for joining us for our first diamond episode of April! We hope all those who have an April birthday are enjoying yourselves (looking at you Dad!)This month gets a little additional love, as the history of diamonds is such that we need to break it into two parts. We are also delighted to tease a bonus special episode to be released at the end of the month. In this episode we talk about the origin of diamonds (at least as utilised in society), kicking things off with India and then across several bodies of water to Brazil. We talk mythology and faceting progression and how our depictions of diamonds have evolved. We have of course added some additional resources below, as well as our contact details and our Buy Me A Coffee link if you feel so inclined. We hope you enjoy this first of four April episodes and are excited for this month of diamonds!Additional Resources:https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-golconda-treasure-that-enchanted-a-queenhttps://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/indian-diamonds-benjamin-zucker-family-collectionhttps://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research/historical-reading-diamond-and-carbonado-part-1https://www.gia.edu/diamonds-ancient-india-reading-listhttps://gem-a.com/gem-hub/golconda-diamonds-india-myths-legends/https://collections.vam.ac.uk/search/?page=2&page_size=15&q=IHS+pendanthttps://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/our-collection/artworks/278-portrait-of-jane-seymour-1509-1537https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/spring-2017-brazilian-diamondshttps://www.langantiques.com/university/a-history-of-diamond-cutting/?srsltid=AfmBOoo_XdpjtIoAdeUvq9J_Wf-Ape8rXpymgPMLTzC1xk6v_jmDk0kdIf you have any questions or would like to comment on an episode, you can reach us on Instagram @loupedpodcast or by email at [email protected] if you'd like to buy us a coffee, you can do so here! buymeacoffee.com/loupedpodcast

Thank you for joining us for our second aquamarine episode of March! We hope all those who have a March birthday are enjoying yourselves (including Kate and her brother Travis of course). Welcome back to science and values. We've pivoted a little in the episode as we talk about differentiating aquamarine from blue topaz (Kate's nemesis). We discuss the refractive index and the issues that accompany misidentification. We have of course added some additional resources below, as well as our contact details and our Buy Me A Coffee link if you feel so inclined. We hope you enjoy the last of our March episodes and are excited for next month which is all about diamonds!Additional Resources:https://naturalhistory.si.edu/explore/collections/geogallery/10002806http://smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2021/03/16/how-worlds-largest-aquamarine-gem-came-be/https://naturalhistory.si.edu/explore/collections/geogallery/10026429https://www.gemsociety.org/article/famous-aquamarines/https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2009/magnificent-jewels-and-noble-jewelsbrandbra-celebration-of-taste-and-style-magnificent-jewels-from-a-private-collection-ge0902/lot.283.html?locale=en https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/magnificent-jewels-5/lalique-aquamarine-and-enamel-broochIf you have any questions or would like to comment on an episode, you can reach us on Instagram @loupedpodcast or by email at [email protected] if you'd like to buy us a coffee, you can do so here! buymeacoffee.com/loupedpodcast

Thank you for joining us for our first aquamarine episode of March! We wish all of our March babies a very happy birthday! This episode takes a bit of a turn with a chat about mermaids and the dangers of research in the modern age of computers and AI. Join us as we discuss the talismanic properties of aquamarine and as we ask the question 'what does Pliny have to do with mermaids?'Additional Resources:https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/aquamarine.htmlhttps://www.americangemsociety.org/aquamarine-history/https://www.gia.edu/aquamarine-history-lorehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquamarine_(gem)https://www.berganza.com/knowledge/gemmology/gemstones/aquamarines?srsltid=AfmBOopQAreRv62MDdzrX5qUSCTLro1B4EwMQUrjZdMMm7_5_V4ozNyrhttps://www.igi.org/dear-humans-youre-welcome/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x10249https://collections.vam.ac.uk/search/?id_material=AAT11073&page=1&page_size=15https://johnlloydmorgan.com/amazing-aquamarine/https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/62704/pg62704-images.htmlhttps://gem-a.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/JoG2001_27_5.pdfhttps://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryse0000plin/page/n7/mode/2uphttp://attalus.org/pliny/hn37a.htmlhttps://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2017/09/06/pliny-the-elders-bizarre-sea-creatures/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nereus-Greek-godhttps://www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/nereus.htmlIf you have any questions or would like to comment on an episode, you can reach us at [email protected] if you'd like to buy us a coffee, you can do so here! buymeacoffee.com/loupedpodcast

Thank you for joining us for our second amethyst episode of February! We hope you all have had a very happy Valentine's day or Galentine's day and that this month has been kind to you.This time it's all about science and the Moh's hardness scale (and Kate's personal issue with this very important and integral measuring scale). As you may hear later on in the episode, we have included our Buy Me A Coffee link below if you feel so inclined along with our email for you to reach out with all of your questions or comments. We have of course have some additional resources below for you to peruse if you're interested in further researching February's beautiful birthstone.Additional Resources:https://galeriemagazine.com/worlds-most-alluring-amethysts/https://www.gemdat.org/https://mzl.la/43doGMXhttps://www.gia.edu/amethysthttps://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/royal-noble/amethyst-and-diamond-pendant-circa-1920https://www.collectissim.com/en/wallis-simpson-duchess-of-windsors-jewels/If you have any questions or would like to comment on an episode, you can reach us at [email protected] if you'd like to buy us a coffee, you can do so here! buymeacoffee.com/loupedpodcastSpecial thanks to our good friend Cady for providing the beautiful photo for this week's episode. Check her work out at https://www.hearthandbellows.com/

Thank you for joining us for our first amethyst episode of February! We wish you all a very happy Valentine's day and hope that you'll send lovely thoughts and kind words to Cem for his birthday. This episode focuses on some fun anecdotes related to amethysts and includes some interesting history. We're back to ancient Egypt and ancient Greece once more! We have of course included some additional resources below for you to peruse if you're interested in further researching February's beautiful birthstone. Additional Resources:https://www.berganza.com/knowledge/gemmology/gemstones/amethyst?srsltid=AfmBOooBmL6XBijl5ohW9oM2s-m2Od50-VLWQj2fkOE8SdDvW_z9j9nBhttps://www.smithgreenjewellers.com/exploring-the-royal-legacy-of-amethyst/https://dsfantiquejewelry.com/blogs/journal/a-stone-prized-by-royalties-the-most-famous-crown-amethyst-jewelry?srsltid=AfmBOoqc4YtSMiNUKwGt0twMjYVtINpluHeZYnaXhLml5CD1OapxIGGUhttps://www.gutenberg.org/files/38230/38230-h/38230-h.htm#illo35https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9my_Belleauhttps://www.gemsociety.org/article/history-legend-amethyst-gems-yore/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/search?keyword=amethyst&view=grid&sort=date__asc&page=1https://www.gia.edu/amethyst-history-lorehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amethysthttps://www.americangemsociety.org/birthstones/february-birthstone/amethyst-history/If you have any questions or would like to comment on an episode, you can reach us at [email protected]

Thank you for joining us for our final Garnets episode of this season! This one is a bit longer than our previous chats, so make sure you have plenty of drinks and snacks at hand as we dive into the science side of things. We discuss the formation of garnets in this episode as well as what gives them their colour. We discuss value and even go over some auction results for garnets at sale! As always, there will be links and resources below if you have any desire to do some further research. We look forward to seeing you in February and hope you enjoy the show!Additional Resources:https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/magnificent-jewels-noble-jewels-ge1402/lot.450.htmlhttps://www.barnebys.com/blog/rare-roman-garnet-ring-sells-for-450-times-its-original-estimatehttps://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-1653072https://galeriemagazine.com/worlds-most-impressive-garnets/If you would like to contact us directly you can at [email protected]

Thank you for joining us for our second episode! We hope this means that you enjoyed our debut and that perhaps we are the podcast for you.This episode focuses on garnet history and includes some anecdotes and fun facts. We go into mythology and superstition and even talk about death and the afterlife! As before, we have supplied some additional resources below for your perusal.Please prepare yourself a cup of coffee or tea and join us for this talk on garnets!Additional Resources:https://latin-dictionary.net/definition/21637/granatus-granata-granatumhttps://www.ga.gov.au/education/minerals-energy/australian-mineral-facts/garnethttps://www.gemsociety.org/article/garnet-symbolism-legends/https://www.gia.edu/garnet-history-lorehttps://laurelleantiquejewellery.com/blogs/our-blog/the-history-of-the-garnet?srsltid=AfmBOoopdq-ts939sxa-KhwhgvtYgZgz9AwwCsCpcFtdTd_a4kPDk9Cthttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7071526/https://razagems.com/blogs/loose-stones/from-mines-to-markets-how-garnet-gems-are-really-sourced?srsltid=AfmBOorgXrJ8L_gIDg3lAMTlGPBs3hykP2HmOTZds2pUvg4MuXxIE6N7If you would like to reach us directly, please send us an email at [email protected]

Thank you for joining us for our debut podcast episode! We hope you enjoy it here with us and think of our episodes like a little coffee or tea break for your ears. As always, I will include some resources below for any of you curious to do your own deep dives.Resources and helpful links:https://www.gia.edu/birthstoneshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthstonehttps://www.gemsociety.org/article/what-were-the-gemstones-of-the-breastplate-of-aaron/https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2028%3A15-30&version=NRSVUEhttps://biblehub.com/library/maclaren/expositions_of_holy_scripture_k/the_names_on_aarons_breastplate.htmIf you would like to reach out and request a specific topic or would like to ask specific jewellery and gem related questions, you can reach us at [email protected]