How we grade what we sell

The tiers aren't a quality ranking. A quality-approved tumble isn't a lesser object than a hand-selected specimen; it's a different kind of object, checked the way that kind of object needs checking.

What the tiers measure is how closely a piece is examined before listing, matched to the piece, not used to rank it. It's separate from how a piece is listed; every specimen is listed individually as the exact piece you'll receive, whatever tier it was assessed under. Only high-volume material is shown as an example rather than the exact piece.

A single rare specimen is examined on its own. A run of identical tumbles is checked by sampling the batch. Pricing one the way you'd price the other would misrepresent both. So we don't. Each tier is named for how the check is done.

Three tiers, and what they actually measure

The tiers aren't a quality ranking. A quality-approved tumble isn't a lesser object than a hand-selected specimen; it's a different kind of object, checked the way that kind of object needs checking. What the tiers measure is the level of individual scrutiny a piece receives before it's listed, and that's matched to the piece, not used to rank it.

A single rare specimen is examined on its own. A run of identical tumbles is checked by sampling the batch. Pricing one the way you'd price the other would misrepresent both. So we don't. Each tier is named for how the check is done.

The three tiers

  • Hand-selected

    Reserved for one-off and high-value pieces; the specimens where individual judgement matters most. Each is assessed entirely on its own, every factor read by eye, and listed as the exact piece you'll receive. When a piece is rare enough or fine enough that no batch standard would do it justice, it's hand-selected.

  • Batch-inspected

    The piece comes from a run of similar material, assessed by inspecting a representative sample of the batch. Specimens checked this way are still listed individually as the exact piece you'll receive; the batch sets the standard, but each unique piece is shown as itself. This is how we handle specimens that meet a consistent standard without each one needing one-off judgement.

  • Quality-approved

    High-volume material; tumbles, small polished pieces; selected against a consistent quality threshold rather than piece by piece. Material that doesn't meet the standard doesn't get listed. These are listed as representative, not as individual pieces; you receive one that clears the bar, with the natural variation expected of a product sold at volume.

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    Hand-selected

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    Batch-inspected

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    Quality-approved

The check matches the piece. Every time.

Why we don't pretend everything is hand-selected

It would be easy to call every piece "hand-selected"; it sounds better, and plenty of sellers do exactly that. The problem is it isn't true for a bag of tumbles, and a collector knows it. Claiming individual selection on material that was checked by batch is the kind of small dishonesty that tells you what else a seller might be stretching.

So we tell you which tier a piece sits in, not because it's a selling point, but because the honest version is the only one worth building a brand on. Know which check your piece received, and you know exactly what you're paying for.

Know what you own.

What "individually listed" actually means

Every specimen is listed individually, the photo is the piece, and what you see is what ships; whether it was hand-selected or batch-inspected. Only high-volume material like tumbles is listed as representative, where the photo shows the standard and you receive a piece that meets it.

Two honest ways to list two different kinds of material. What would be dishonest is showing one piece and shipping another; we don't.

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Every piece, graded honestly

Every specimen we sell is listed with the tier of check it received, its species, documented locality, and treatment status stated plainly. You always know which kind of piece you're buying, and how it was assessed.

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