About the work

A closer look.

Tell me one stone you own: a gem, a ring stone, a slab, a rock from a beach. A name is enough. A photo helps. What you were told about it helps most, because that is what I check. What you get back, as a written document: - The ground: the formation and the exact condition that made your stone (the contact zone, the dike, the seam, the river bed). - The place: the real quarry, mine, or field, named and located, with the operator still working it where one still exists. - The check: what is true about your stone against what you were told or sold. Sellers' claims, honestly weighed. - The trail: sources you can open yourself. Papers, records, site pages. A credit for every photograph used. - The verdict, stated plainly. If your stone cannot be tied to a real ground, I say so and tell you why. You do not get an invented origin from me. One revision included: if a point is unclear or a photograph is missing, I rework it once. This is work for a stone that is about to be set, sold, insured, or handed on. A name and a story is a nice thing to have. A ground you can stand behind is what changes the price. Photo: the working face at Monte Zapola, Markina-Xemein (Canteras Olaspe). Lea-Artibai eta Mutrikuko Hitza, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.