But it wasn’t until 1912, when the American National Retail Jeweler’s Association (now the Jewelers of America) met in Kansas ...

Once dismissed as ugly ducklings, flawed and unusual stones are increasingly being championed by high-end jewelers.

The lapis-lazuli deposits at Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, have provided the raw material for objects fashioned of this stone since the earliest civilizations. The mine, which lies in the ...