LAP LUXE ◆ ATELIER

from The Chief Artisan

THE COUNTER BRIEF · FREE

Know the number before you reach the counter.

You're buying one piece that matters, and you have a feeling the diamond is oversold. So we went looking: into the ground in Oregon and Montana, to the cutting wheel, and to the counter where the markup hides. The Counter Brief is what we brought back: the checks, the questions and the walk-away signs for the ten minutes before you pay.

• Six questions, word for word, and what a straight answer sounds like.
• Five checks you can do at the counter, with nothing but daylight and your phone.
• Six signs to walk away, and a check sheet that ends in your call: go, sleep on it, or walk away.

A careful buyer isn't a rude buyer. Subscribe and the brief comes straight to your inbox, then the next stone: where it was dug, who cut it, and who got paid.

AMERICAN GROUND. AMERICAN HANDS.

Lap Luxe Atelier: American gemstones, where they're dug, how they're cut, and what they're really worth.