Every coloured gemstone,
explained honestly.
From the Kashmir sapphire mines at 4,600 metres to the cutting lanes of Jaipur. From the 1881 landslide that revealed the finest sapphires ever found to the lead glass fraud destroying trust in rubies today. The Gemstone Codex covers it all.
What other gemstone sites don't tell you
GIA's gem encyclopedia gives 800 words per stone. The Gemstone Codex gives 9,000. With every mine named, every treatment explained, every source cited. Because the person buying a Kashmir sapphire or a Neelam for Jyotish deserves the full truth.
What we cover that doesn't exist elsewhere
The complete Kashmir sapphire story, from the 1881 landslide to today's auction market. The lead glass ruby fraud, fully explained with the acid-cleaning warning. The Navratna treated with both traditional reverence and gemological rigour. Every named mine for every major stone. The Jaipur cutting industry as it actually works. Indian gemstone deposits that no English site has mapped properly.
The science behind the tradition
Ruby re-emits red fluorescence in sunlight. Kashmir sapphire's velvety glow comes from silk needles scattering light internally. Alexandrite's colour change is real physics. Cat's eye chatoyancy is measurable optics. We explain what gemstones actually do with light, because the science is already extraordinary enough to justify the tradition's reverence. No debunking. No dismissal. Just honest answers.
What you find on most gemstone sites
Three paragraphs per stone. Invented statistics with no source. "Healing properties" stated as fact. Prices presented without date or origin context. Treatments mentioned but not explained. No mine locations. No certification guidance. No fraud warnings. Content written to sell, not to inform.
What the Gemstone Codex never does
Invent statistics. State prices without a source, date, and origin caveat. Present astrological benefits as scientific fact. Use "pigeon blood" without citing Gübelin, AGL, or SSEF. Call a stone "natural" without specifying the treatment status. Write a single sentence without a verifiable basis. Every fact here has a named source. Every claim is honest.
Start here
View all sections →What is a gemstone? The answer is more complicated than you think
Minerals, organics, the "precious vs semi-precious" myth, and why a spinel can outprice a ruby. Start here if you're new to coloured stones.
Kashmir sapphire: the world's most valuable origin designation
All fine Kashmir sapphires in existence were mined in a six-year window before 1888. The full story of how, why, and what it means today.
What gemstones actually do with light: the science behind the tradition
Ruby fluoresces in sunlight. Kashmir sapphire's silk scatters light internally. Alexandrite shifts colour by wavelength. The physics is already extraordinary.
What the Gemstone Codex covers
26 sections. Every major stone, every treatment, the full history, the India trade, the certification ecosystem, and the truth about Jyotish gemstones.
Not sure where to start?
Three structured paths through 80 Codex articles, from first-time buyer to fine gem specialist.
Find my learning path →