Inhorgenta 2026 – Gems, pearls and lots more

In our industry, there are always a number of (trade) fairs that you, as a goldsmith, like to attend, whether you have been there or are a regular visitor. This coming weekend I will be attending Inhorgenta for the second time in Munich, Germany.

What kind of fair is Inhorgenta?

Inhorgenta is an international trade fair for the jewellery industry, and all it entails. It is a fair aimed at professionals in the trade: goldsmiths, jewellers, engravers, watchmakers, designers, and others working in our industry. Different parts of the profession come together here, from jewellery and materials to tools, presentations and knowledge sharing. Just to point out how big it is: 6 large halls FULL of everything related to this industry.

Jewellery brands and collections

One such component is the segment (high and low) in which various jewellery brands present themselves to visitors who already sell their work or are considering doing so. These are often jewellers, as well as goldsmiths, who carry other brands in addition to their own work. It is thus one of the many facets that make Inhorgenta such a broad and versatile fair.

Tools, machinery and investments

There is also an entire hall with vendors of tools, machines, and semi-finished components Brands such as Badeco, GRS, Jura Tools, Hatho and Komet are represented there. It’s always nice to walk around there, check out products and see if there are any new developments or tools you didn’t know you actually “must” have. Goldsmithing is a beautiful craft, but without good tools, you are nowhere. And sometimes you just want to try, feel and experience things before making another investment in your tool inventory.

Presentation and appearance

There are also several providers of packaging and presentation materials. Think labels for in-store jewellery, price cubes and complete window display materials, and jewellery boxes for when customers come to pick up their jewellery. Again, goldsmithing is a wonderful craft, but presentation, brand identity and appearance are of enormous value. I have been doing business with Dahlinger for a number of years. A nice German company, with a pleasant business contact in the Netherlands and I order my jewellery boxes, bags and display materials from them. But even within this category, there are constant developments: new colours, materials, combinations and possibilities. This is precisely why I enjoy seeing this in person. Ordering from a catalogue or online is always possible, but I think it’s important to have seen and experienced it first. After all, I can only spend my money once, and I’d rather do it well.

Lectures and deepening

And then there is something this year that completely passed me by during my 2022 visit: lectures by various speakers and industry experts. Over the past few weeks, I have been looking into Inhorgenta’s program and downloaded the accompanying app (super convenient and clear). I hope to attend some of the lectures, as there are some great and interesting topics coming up. These include a lecture by Helen Molesworth, curator at the V&A Museum in London. She curated the Cartier exhibit there and is the author of the book Precious, which, for me, is an absolute must-have for any gemstone lover. Her lecture is entitled Cartier: an obsession with stones. That title alone really says it all.

There will also be a lecture titled From the workbench to a global audience: making craftsmanship visible in the digital age, given by Pablo Cimadevila. I also hope to attend a lecture on craftsmanship and cultural heritage, focusing on Enzo Liverino’s work. Enzo Liverino is a renowned Italian master coral carver and engraver (jaw-dropping: the work, the story and the craftsmanship). This talk is presented by Laura Astrologo Proché, whom I follow on Instagram and who runs the Journal de Bijoux platform. There she shares the most extraordinary jewellery and stories. Laura also writes for various magazines, such as Forbes Italy and Orafo Italiano.

Pearls and gemstones: the main reason

I could name a few more, but I mainly go to Inhorgenta to buy pearls and gemstones. Because really: an entire hall full of pearls and gemstones of all shapes, sizes, cuts, colours, and variations. This is really the main reason I’m coming here. Three days of “bling” browsing. Shifting gems, deciding whether or not I’m going to do something (I definitely set a budget for myself), enjoying all the beauty and seeing what I come home with.

Selection for the Aurargent collection

My focus is mainly on gemstones that I can incorporate into the Aurargent collection. Gems and pearls that do not come out at a certain selling price because the ratio of silver and hours would soon be lost. I am especially looking at special cuts and bi-coloured gemstones, thinking of topaz, amethyst and quartz – and who knows, maybe I will run into a fine surprise.

Of course, anything is possible, and you can also incorporate more precious gemstones into silver, but from experience, I know that this is often not preferred. Silver is still much associated with “affordable,” a term that can be the subject of an interesting discussion in itself. At the same time, I create unique, handmade silver pieces, with my designs starting at around €500.

Inside Out: strings and round cuts

In addition, I want to look at beautiful gemstone necklaces and so-called pampel cuts for the Inside Out collection. The selection at Inhorgenta is vast, with many vendors. Of course, I stop by Alice Pearls, one of my Dutch pearl suppliers, who will be at Inhorgenta again this year. I also want to check out GemHype, where I often get my finest tourmalines. At Adnan Gems, I had a good success last time, and the Antwerp company Gem World is also at the fair. On Instagram, I always see a lot of beautiful things popping up.

Looking, experiencing and loving it

Again, I want to see it, live it and experience it. Watching how the light plays with the colours of a gemstone or the lustre of a pearl. I never buy gemstones online. I need to see them in real life. Gemstones and pearls are a crucial part of the jewellery I make, both for my collections and for client commissions. For example, I may try to find a set of white faceted pearls for a lady to match what she already has. And I start looking for a round cut aqua, blue or greenish gemstone for a bespoke Sirius ring.

You guys understand that I am incredibly looking forward to this fair. I am going there with my dear friend and colleague Natalie Hoogeveen. And this Thursday I will have my nails done first, because I will definitely be taking pictures and videos for my socials, and then I want to have nice hands and nails. Looks more pleasant anyway ;-). I hope this will take you a little into the world of Inhorgenta.

With love,
Sarah

Silver

Silver is a precious metal often seen as a more affordable alternative to gold. That is partly true. It is more affordable and behaves differently. Precisely because of that, it is interesting.

When I registered with the Chamber of Commerce in 2007, I did not have the budget to work in gold. Next year, I will mark twenty years as an independent goldsmith. When I think back to the beginning, I see silver. A great deal of silver.

My first collection was made entirely in silver. It was what I could afford at the time, and it gave me the space to grow and to learn. That collection went in every direction: clean lines, organic shapes, bold textures and minimalist rings. I was searching and making, discovering where my hands and my mind worked together. Sometimes it worked beautifully, sometimes not at all. But technically, I learned an enormous amount.

Silver hides very little; whatever you do, you see immediately on the surface. At the same time, it offers room to experiment with texture, oxidation, and contrast. In that phase, it was the ideal material for me.

From silver to gold

Later, there was room to start working in gold. And honestly, those first gold pieces felt daunting. It was a considerable investment, and I genuinely wondered whether they would sell. Thankfully, they did. That created confidence and, in turn, more room to invest in gold and in exceptional gemstones. My work became more refined, and gold increasingly took the lead in my collection.

During that period, I discovered how powerful the combination of silver and gold can be. Oxidised silver against which golden granules truly stand out. A silver ring with a distinct texture and a gold setting that allows a gemstone to come forward more strongly. The contrast shaped the design.

Over time, however, my focus gradually shifted entirely towards gold. It happened slowly and felt logical at that moment. Silver moved into the background.

The return of silver – Aurargent

A few years ago, I was scrolling through old photographs of my work and saw those silver-and-gold combinations again. And I thought: why did I ever stop? I could see once more how strong the contrast was and how much character silver brought to a design. I wanted that back in my work.

So I decided to begin again with a series of rings. Rings are my favourite piece of jewellery. I love making them; they are technically challenging and at the same time deeply personal. From there, the Aurargent collection was born.

The name Aurargent is a fusion of aurum (gold) and argentum (silver). It says exactly what it is: a combination of two precious metals that enhance one another. In this collection, silver takes the lead, while gold is used deliberately as an accent: in a setting, in granules, or to give a gemstone greater presence.

Aurargent is my conscious return to silver and to working with texture and contrast. Each ring is made entirely by hand in my atelier in Beltrum. At times, I choose a more valuable gemstone because the design calls for it. Not to impress, but because material, form and comfort must work together.

In a time when the gold price has risen significantly, silver is once again relevant, not as a substitute for gold, but as a precious metal with its own distinct character. Aurargent therefore sits in a different price category from my fully gold collections, yet these are not “inexpensive” rings. They remain handmade pieces of jewellery, each unique, designed and crafted over nearly 20 years of craftsmanship, knowledge and experience.

Every ring begins from the same foundation as my other collections: attention to material, comfort and the balance between form and gemstone. The difference lies not in quality, but in material choice and design vision.

For me, silver does not stand beneath gold. It stands beside it.

Gemology – Terms explained

In my work, I frequently use terms derived from gemology.
On this page, I explain them in a simple way so that you can better understand what I am talking about in my blogs and in the descriptions of my jewellery.

The 4 Cs

When assessing the quality of gemstones, people often talk about the four Cs: Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat.
These four properties tell a lot about the quality and appearance of a gemstone.

Cut
The way a gemstone is cut and polished. The cut determines how light reflects off the stone and how much brilliance you see.

Colour
The hue, intensity and evenness of color. With many gemstones, that very color is what makes them so recognizable and beloved.

Clarity
The degree to which a gemstone is free of inclusions or minor blemishes. Some gemstones are completely clear; others contain natural inclusions that tell something about their origin or formation. Both are perfectly normal and say something about the unique origin of the stone.

Carat (carat weight)
The weight of a gemstone. One carat is equivalent to 0.2 grams.
Merchants used to weigh gemstones with a balance scale, using the seeds of the carob tree as a measure of comparison. Those seeds remarkably often weighed the same amount, making them ideal as natural standards. The average weight – about 0.2 grams per seed – was later recorded as one carat.

About optical properties

Gloss
The way a gemstone’s surface reflects light back. Think glass gloss, silk gloss or metallic gloss. Each gemstone and pearl has its own luster.

Refractive index
When light enters a gemstone, it changes direction. How strongly that happens is called the refractive index. The higher the refractive index, the more brilliance a stone shows. You can compare it to a straw in a glass of water: it suddenly appears “broken” or shifted, because the light changes direction as soon as it enters the water.

Dispersion
Dispersion means that white light breaks up into rainbow colors. You can see this especially in diamonds, where the light “dances” in flashes of red, blue and yellow. It creates that irresistible “magpie effect” that has enchanted us for centuries.

Transparency
Transparency indicates how much light a gemstone lets through – from completely transparent to completely opaque. For example, a diamond or tourmaline is transparent, a moonstone semi-transparent (also called translucent) and a lapis lazuli completely opaque.

Double-break
In some gemstones, such as tourmaline, light is split in two directions. This makes the stone appear extra vibrant.

On structure and composition

Crystal Structure
Every gemstone is made up of tiny building blocks: atoms. The way those atoms are arranged is called the crystal structure. You can think of it as a kind of repeating pattern, like the bricks in a carefully bricked wall.
For example, diamond and graphite both consist of carbon, but the atoms are arranged very differently. As a result, diamond is rock hard, while graphite is soft and black.

Chemical composition
What is literally in a gemstone. Like a recipe, each gemstone consists of specific “ingredients. Thus, ruby consists of aluminum and oxygen, with a little chromium that provides the red color.

Crystal shapes
The natural form in which a gemstone grows. This can be cubic, hexagonal or elongated, for example.
You’ve probably seen it in a gem or mineral store: those rough “chunks” with straight surfaces or tapered points. These are crystals in their natural form, even before they are cut or polished.

Natural cluster
When several crystals grow together, we call it a cluster. You can think of it as a group of crystals growing up from one “root” or base, often in different directions. In quartz or amethyst, you can see this very well: dozens of tiny crystal points that together form a whole – like flowers growing from the same stem.

Hardness
Indicates how well a gemstone resists scratching. This is measured on the Mohs scale, which runs from 1 (very soft) to 10 (the hardest).

By comparison:

• Talc has a hardness of 1

• Moonstone round 6

• Sapphire 9

• Diamond 10

The higher the number, the more resistant the stone is to scratching.
So a sapphire is hard enough for daily wear, while a moonstone is a bit more sensitive and requires more care.

Cleavage
The tendency of a gemstone to fracture in certain directions. That has to do with how the atoms in the stone are arranged: along those natural lines, a stone can split more easily. Not every gemstone has an obvious cleavage, but in some – such as topaz or diamond – it is easy to see. Therefore, grinders must work extra precisely with such stones, because one wrong stroke can cause the stone to break in two.

Fracture
The way a gemstone breaks if it does not go along its natural cleavage direction. Whereas fission proceeds neatly along straight lines, fracture, on the contrary, is more erratic and less predictable. (and somewhat the “fear” of any goldsmith who is setting a gemstone. one wrong action and the gem breaks…). Quartz, for example, has no cleavage and breaks with smooth, round shapes – this is called a shell fracture. You can compare it to how a piece of glass breaks: smooth, but with slightly curved lines.

Inclusions
Small imperfections or natural marks in a gemstone. Sometimes they are actually beautiful to see: a tiny world that tells something about how and where the stone was formed. To gemologists, inclusions are often like fingerprints – unique and recognizable. They may say something about the origin of the stone, or, on the contrary, confirm that it is natural. And sometimes they only make a gem more fascinating.

On origin and treatment

Natural gemstone
A natural gemstone is created in nature, without human intervention. That formation can take millions of years, deep inside the earth under high pressure and temperature, or just at the surface due to cooling of minerals. No two natural gemstones are exactly the same: slight differences in color, inclusions or growing conditions make each stone distinctive and contribute to its own appearance.

Lab-grown diamond
A lab-grown diamond is one that was not formed deep in the earth, but in a laboratory. There, natural conditions are mimicked: high pressure and temperature allow carbon to crystallize into diamonds. The chemical composition, hardness and brilliance are exactly the same as that of a natural diamond. Only specialized laboratories can (unfortunately) determine the difference.

Synthetic gemstones
Synthetic gemstones are also made in a laboratory, but not always in exactly the same way or with the same properties as their natural counterpart. They may have been developed to enhance a particular color or mimic a rare gemstone. In gemology, the word “synthetic” refers to how the stone was created, not its quality – but a natural gemstone always retains its unique character and inclusions.

Treatment
Some gemstones are heated or treated with oil to enhance their color or clarity. This is common, but should always be mentioned.

FGA (Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain)

FGA is an internationally recognized title for gemologists who have completed Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) training.

This course goes deep into the properties, recognition and assessment of gemstones. As a result, FGA-qualified gemologists know exactly how to assess the quality and authenticity of stones.

In short, someone with an FGA title is a true connoisseur who knows exactly what goes into a gem.

Are you missing terms or have questions?

Then, of course, I would love to hear about it. This list grows step by step with the blogs and with what I come across in the studio. Therefore, new terms may be added all the time.

No worries: I like to keep it understandable – after all, gemology doesn’t have to sound more complicated than it needs to.

Do you have a question or want to add something?
Please feel free to contact me through my contact page.

During my last shopping day at BirGem in Schoonhoven, I fell in love with a beautiful yellow garnet: a Mali garnet. As you may know, I have a massive fondness for tourmaline.

And while I was checking out various gemstones at BirGem that day (and so was a batch of tourmalines), I told one of the employees that I was going to take “that yellow tourmaline” with me as well. To which he replied very carefully, “Um, Sarah … that’s a garnet.”

To my happy surprise, my former lecturer, Drs. George Hamel, FGA, was also present at the time. I asked him if he could explain to me a little more about this group of gemstones – and boy oh boy, that turned into a crash course in garnet!

And yes, I admit it: I have some blinders on. Tourmaline is and always has been my “weakness. However, the beautiful story and Mr Hamel’s infectious enthusiasm still shone in a new light.

(And despite the fine relationship I have with Bir and the team at BirGem, it remains odd to call Mr Hamel “Sjors. Due to his prestige and vast knowledge, it simply doesn’t feel appropriate. After all, he was my gemology teacher at the Schoonhoven Trade School and is quite a household name in our industry.

Anyway, so I went home with some beautiful tourmalines (but of course), as well as some gorgeous gemstones from the garnet group. And at home, it occurred to me: I should write something about this.

Because the garnet gemstone is SO much more than that classic necklace. You probably know it, one of those multi-row necklaces you may have inherited from your mother or grandmother.

The garnet group: one family, many colours

The garnet belongs to a group of different types of coloured gemstones that share a similar crystal structure and chemical composition. Within that group, there are six main species, each with its own colour, composition and character.

That kinship yields an impressive variety of hues, ranging from fiery red to bright green, and from soft orange to a purple-pink.

The name “garnet” comes from the Latin granatus, which means “grain” or “seed” (which, by the way, I think fits my granules very well again!). This refers to the round crystal shapes in which these gemstones are often found.

Many people immediately think of garnet as a dark red gemstone, like the classic necklaces and rings of yesteryear. But that is only one face of this multifaceted family.

The six main types are:
Pyrope – the classic red garnet often seen in antique jewellery.
Almandine – slightly darker in tone, with a deeper red or purplish-red character.
Spessartien – warm orange to orange-brown; also called tangerine garnet.
Grossular – ranges from colourless to green; the intense emerald green tsavorite is the best known variety of these.
Andradite is green primarily or yellow-green; demantoite is the rarest and most sparkling variety, characterised by a diamond-like brilliance.
Uvarovite – rare and bright green, often too small to grind, but beautiful as a natural cluster.

Many garnets are mixtures of two main types. Well-known examples are rhodolite (a mixture of pyrope and almandine, with a purplish-pink to red colour), Malaya garnet (between pyrope and spessartine, often orange-pink) and Mali garnet (between grossulite and andradite, usually yellow-green in colour).

Confusion often arises between the two green garnets: tsavorite and demantoite. They are similar in colour but differ in composition. Tsavorite is a green variant of grossular, while demantoite is a green variant of andradite.

Demantoite is slightly softer, but shines more strongly. It has a higher index of refraction (When light enters a gemstone, it changes direction. How strongly that happens is called the refractive index. The higher the refractive index, the more brilliance a stone shows) and more dispersion, which creates that sparkling “diamond-like” effect. Tsavorite is slightly harder and therefore more suitable for daily wear.

The charm of purple garnet

One of my personal favourites within this family is the purple garnet – a mixture of pyrope and almandine found in Mozambique.

What makes this variant special is that the colour is not just red or pink, but a deep, velvety purple shade with a subtle glow. In ordinary daylight, she sometimes appears wine-red, but under artificial light, a glimmer of purple-blue appears.

According to the GIA, this specific hue occurs because, in the mineral, small amounts of elements such as magnesium and iron combine uniquely. Simply put, nature creates its own colour palette, and the most minor differences in composition create completely different nuances.

For those who love gemstones with character, the purple garnet has a mysterious and elegant quality all at once. She radiates warmth but looks sophisticated. This makes her perfect for jewellery that allows for just that little bit of depth and layering. And she is very different from the colour purple we know from amethyst.

My favorites from the garnet family

In my studio, I work mainly with rhodolite and tsavorite, and I also have a Malaya garnet and a yellow Mali garnet in my collection.

Rhodolite has a special, purple-pink glow that combines beautifully with gold. Tsavorite, on the other hand, is a vibrant green with incredible clarity. And the Mali garnet – the “surprise of the day” at BirGem – proved to be a real eye-catcher with its warm, golden sheen.

Garnet has become, for me, since that day at BirGem, a gemstone with character as well as versatility. A gemstone that shows how rich nature is in colour and form.

And fair is fair: thanks to that one yellow garnet, I now look at this ancient, yet alive and kicking gem group with very different eyes. As you can see, I’ve been in this business since 2000, but I continue to learn. And that is the best thing about this craft.

Did you know…

…The quality of the garnet is mainly determined by colour and clarity. The finest garnets have a vibrant hue – neither too dark nor too light.

With green varieties, such as tsavorite and demantoite, this plays an additional role: the fresher the green, the more the gemstone comes alive.

Demantoite also often has so-called horse-tail inclusions: fine, fibrous lines that run fan-like from the heart of the stone. Remarkably, these inclusions do not lower the value, but rather raise it. They are characteristic of high-quality natural demantoite and are seen as a sign of authenticity as well as beauty.

The cut also makes a difference. Dark garnets are often cut a little shallower to make the colour appear lighter. Lighter ones, on the other hand, are ground slightly deeper for added intensity. And with larger specimens – above five carats – the rarity as well as the value increases rapidly, especially with tsavorite, demantoite and rhodolite.

In conclusion

Are you curious about the jewellery in which I work with garnet – from the warm glow of rhodolite to the sparkling green of tsavorite or the sunny yellow of Mali garnet? Feel free to contact me or see more about the gemstones I work with on the gems and pearls page.