14th ANNUAL SINKANKAS SYMPOSIUM - SAPPHIRE #Sinkankis2017 #GIA

14th ANNUAL SINKANKAS SYMPOSIUM - SAPPHIRE

One of a pair of Byzantine gold bracelets adorned with silver 

ornamentation and pearls, amethyst, sapphire, glass, quartz 

and "emerald plasma," ca. AD 500–700; overall dimensions: 3.7 x 8.2 cm. 

Inv. 17.190.1670, gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917, 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Registration is now open.

Register online

This SoCal favorite is named for one of the most distinguished and revered figures in gemology and mineralogy, the Sinkankas Symposium is a one-day event featuring presentations by noted specialists working in diverse gem-related disciplines. Each year a specific gem is featured and the theme of the Fourteenth Annual Sinkankas Symposium is Sapphire.

The Sinkankas Symposium has been described as the most important gemological conference in North America by respected authorities on gemstones. Organized by Roger Merk for 13 years (2003–2015), the annual event is co-sponsored by the Gemological Society of San Diego and GIA (Gemological Institute of America), which has provided the Symposium venue every year. Bill Larson has been a generous supporter and speaker at the event since its inception. 

So clear your Calendars for Saturday, April 8, 2017

At - the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) 

World Headquarters and The Robert Mouawad Campus

5345 Armada Drive, Carlsbad, CA 92008

Space is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. 

 Registration is now open through April 2 or until tickets are sold out. 

 Registration for the one-day event includes refreshments, lunch and a copy of the 2017 Sinkankas Symposium volume, which features selected papers on Sapphire.

Registration: Register online (no paper forms, no on-site registration)

Cost: $95.00 per person through April 2 (or until sold out).

FOURTEENTH ANNUAL SINKANKAS SYMPOSIUM – SPEAKERS *

Recognized specialists in fields ranging from geology and mineralogy to history, treatment, cutting, collecting and selling will make presentations on Sapphire.

Edward Boehm – Sapphire Origin Determination: Past and Present

Dr. John Emmett – All the Colors of Corundum

Dr. George Harlow – Syenite-Hosted Sapphires – What's Going On

Alan Hart – Sapphires in the Crown Jewels

Richard Hughes – Sapphire Around the World

Carl Larson – A Collector's Perspective: Sapphire Crystals from Worldwide Localities

Glenn Lehrer – The Art and Science of Faceting and Carving Sapphire

Shane McClure – Sapphire Treatments and Their Detection

Nathan Renfro – The Microworld of Sapphires

Dr. George Rossman – Added Attractions on Color in Corundum

Dr. William "Skip" Simmons – Mineralogy and Crystallography of Sapphire

Lisbet Thoresen – Archaeogemology of Sapphire

* Speakers subject to change

GIA Pilots Automated Melee Analysis Service for Round D-to-Z Diamond Melee

From a Press Release

One of the major hot button issues in the Industry has been the introduction of synthetic or "cultured" Diamonds.  Whether you are a small shop, a large chain or the independant jewelry designer - this topic matters.  It is going to take concentration and some organizational skills to keep synthetics (especially melee) separate on your work bench.....

GIA Pilots Melee Analysis Service for Diamonds

Automated analysis and color sorting for round D-to-Z melee

To address concerns in the gem and jewelry industry about the possibility of synthetic or treated diamonds being mixed into parcels of melee, GIA has developed a fully automated system to rapidly and accurately analyze and sort round D-to-Z melee-size diamonds.

The pilot for the GIA Melee Analysis Service launched last month at GIA’s New York laboratory.  Current clients wishing to participate in the pilot should contact their client service representative. The service will be offered at all GIA locations, with the roll out beginning in the third quarter of 2016.

“This system, which incorporates proven instrumentation, standards and processes used in GIA laboratories, will give the industry and consumers confidence in the characteristics, including color, of these most prevalent stones,” said Tom Moses, GIA’s executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer.

The GIA Melee Analysis Service will separate natural, untreated diamonds from simulants and potentially synthetic or treated diamonds, and sort the screened diamonds by color range. Clients can also specify a size range for their parcel. The system applies GIA’s decades of research into and examination of treated and synthetic diamonds, and will process about 1,800 stones per hour around the clock.

The system can accommodate stones from 1.1 to 3.8 mm in diameter (approximately 0.005 ct to about 0.20 ct.) The cost of the service ranges from eight to 30 cents (U.S.) per stone based on diameter, with a minimum of 500 pieces in each parcel. Once sorted, the melee will be sealed in secure packaging for shipment directly to a third party – upon request and when permissible – or back to the submitting client.

About GIAAn independent nonprofit organization, GIA (Gemological Institute of America), established in 1931, is recognized as the world’s foremost authority in gemology. GIA invented the famous 4Cs of Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat Weight in the early 1950s and in 1953, created the International Diamond Grading System™ which, today, is recognized by virtually every professional jeweler in the world.

Through research, education, gemological laboratory services, and instrument development, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science, and professionalism. Visit www.gia.edu.

GIA Notifies Trade of Potential Undisclosed Diamond Treatment

from a press release

GIA Notifies Trade of Potential Undisclosed Diamond Treatment

CARLSBAD – May 12, 2015 – Approximately 500 colorless to near-colorless diamonds submitted primarily to GIA’s grading laboratory in Ramat Gan, Israel, were potentially subjected to an undisclosed temporary treatment.

GIA believes that the treatment temporarily masks the body color of the diamond, resulting in a color grade that can be up to three grades higher than its actual grade.

The Institute has terminated client agreements with the companies that submitted the diamonds in question and has notified appropriate trade bodies.

The report numbers of the potentially treated stones are posted on the GIA's website  at:  (http://www.gia.edu/gem-lab/laboratory-alert-may-2015). 

Anyone who has purchased or has access to any of these diamonds is asked to submit them to any GIA lab for a no-cost, expedited review. 

About GIA

An independent nonprofit organization, GIA (Gemological Institute of America), established in 1931, is recognized as the world’s foremost authority in gemology. GIA invented the famous 4Cs of Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight in the early 1950s and in 1953, created the International Diamond Grading System™ which, today, is recognized by virtually every professional jeweler in the world.

Through research, education, gemological laboratory services, and instrument development, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science, and professionalism. Visit www.gia.edu.  

Gems & Gemology Spring 2015 Explores a World of Colored Gems

from a press release

Gems & Gemology Explores a World of Colored Gems

Spring 2015 issue reviews Chinese jewelry designers, colored diamond spectra and more

CARLSBAD, Calif. – May 1, 2015 – The first Gems & Gemology (G&G) issue of 2015 takes a journey around the world to review Vietnamese blue spinel, Moroccan amethyst, Mozambique ruby, contemporary Chinese jewelry designs and the Tucson gem shows. The Spring 2015 issue of G&G, GIA’s quarterly professional journal, is now available in print, and online with exclusive video content.

G&G’s cover story is “Blue Spinel from the Luc Yen District of Vietnam” by French researcher Boris Chauviré and his coauthors. The article offers geological context and a gemological characterization of the vivid blue spinel found in Luc Yen, northern Vietnam, which owes its remarkable color to traces of cobalt.

Next is “The Chinese Soul in Contemporary Jewelry Design.” GIA’s Andrew Lucas, Merilee Chapin, Moqing Lin and Xiaodan Jia survey the notable progress China’s jewelry designers have made over the last decade. Influenced by their cultural roots and driven by the rapidly growing domestic consumer market, the artistic prowess of Chinese designers is increasingly evident on the global stage.

Another feature by a joint Moroccan-Italian team headed by Fabrizio Troilo provides an introduction to amethysts from Boudi, Morocco. The study outlines the geology, mining, and the internal and external features of this attractive material. The fourth and final peer-reviewed article, by GIA researchers Dr. James Shigley and Dr. Mike Breeding, reviews colored diamond spectra, including an exclusive and informative foldout chart. In a field report, GIA authors Merilee Chapin, Vincent Pardieu and Andrew Lucas report on the geology and mining practices at Mozambique’s Montepuez ruby deposit, currently the world’s most important commercial source of ruby.

The issue also contains in-depth coverage of the February 2015 Tucson Gem and Mineral shows, as well as reports on the recent Gemstone Industry & Laboratory Conference (GILC) and the GIA-sponsored International Diamond School for natural diamond researchers held late January in Brixen, Italy. Additional details about G&G, full articles, more in-depth coverage, hundreds of additional photos, and exclusive video footage are available on GIA’s website at http://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research.  

About GIA

An independent nonprofit organization, GIA (Gemological Institute of America), established in 1931, is recognized as the world’s foremost authority in gemology. GIA invented the famous 4Cs of Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat Weight in the early 1950s and in 1953, created the International Diamond Grading System™ which, today, is recognized by virtually every professional jeweler in the world.

Through research, education, gemological laboratory services, and instrument development, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science, and professionalism. Visit www.gia.edu. 

At #GIA Dreher Exhibition and Talk With Patrick Dreher

We recently spent an extraordinary evening at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA)...

You may have seen my announcement recently the Patrick Dreher from the Gem Carving Dynasty from Germany would be speaking at GIA! ...well we didn't hesitate!

A Little History

The undeniable Gem Carving capital of the world is Idar Oberstein and I think that many of us are aware of several of the Gem Artists and Styles that have come from that region.  Most have heard of the Munsteiner family and in particular Bernd Munsteiner who is the artist behind the Dom Pedro Aquamarine (14 inches tall and weighs 10,363 carats) in the Smithsonian...

Photo via GIA website

 The Munsteiners have their style of carving/faceting and other Ateliers in Idar Oberstein focus elsewhere.  With this exhibit, it was interesting to learn the history of one of the few cutters that concentrate in the area of animal figures...and not pieced together figures (though they have created pieced figures) but the House of Dreher's focus is figures created from a single piece of gem rough.

Patrick Dreher is the 5th generation carver in his family from a region that is the soul of Gem Cutting and Carving - Idar Oberstein has a 500 year legacy....

Seen at the Scene

The evening started in the Main Lobby at GIA where the Dreher pieces had been beautifully displayed in the cases at the far side of the room, Food and Drink Serving Station behind the Reception Desk and tables filled the center.  

 

 

 

It was a gathering that had attracted some of the most important names in the Industry - these are just a few of the faces I recognized....

• The Larsen Family - Bill, Jeanne, their sons with their significant others....the evening was made possible due to their generous loan of the Carvings on display from the personal Collection of Bill & Jeanne Larsen.

• Harold & Erica Van Pelt - two of the best gem and mineral photographers in the world. Few know that for the last 35 years Harold Van Pelt has perfected an extraordinary gem carving technique (a piece of Harold's is currently on display at GIA).

• Meg Berry, of MegaGem, Multi-Award Winning Gem Cutter, formerly with Pala International

• Robert Weldon, Manager of Photography and Visual Communications at GIA

• Blair Beavers with the Pearl Guide and Graduate Gemologist

Meeting the Artist

We asked to move to a room that GIA often uses for presentations, seminars and symposiums...and in true GIA style the room was perfectly appointed so that everyone could see the detailed carvings and techniques as they were described.

Mr. Dreher spoke beautiful English and started with a brief overview of the 500 year gem cutting tradition of Idar-Oberstein, and wove his family's role throughout.  It was fabulous hearing about the distinction between assembled  pieces made from multiple gems and pieced together and the Dreher trademark use of a single piece of gem rough. 

At one point he described his carving technique which would have been lost on most of those in attendance if it weren't for the multiple viewing screens throughout the room. 

We then adjourned to the Lobby for Coffee & Dessert.

Thank you GIA, Patrick Dreher and the Larsen Family for the lovely evening, good company and yet another fabulous learning experience.

GIA’s Jewelry Career Fair & Open House Returns to Carlsbad October 10th

GIA’s Jewelry Career Fair & Open House Returns to Carlsbad

WHO:            GIA (Gemological Institute of America)

WHAT:          GIA’s Jewelry Career Fair & Open House, the industry’s preeminent recruiting event,   will return to the Institute’s world headquarters in Carlsbad on Friday, Oct. 10 from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with hundreds of hiring opportunities in gems and jewelry; panels featuring industry leaders discussing design, creative careers and job success in today’s market; one-on-one career coaching; and classroom demonstrations. The event is free and open to job seekers.

GIA’s Jewelry Career Fair in Carlsbad. © GIA.

Gem and jewelry companies seeking skilled and motivated talent are invited to participate in the event. Employers interested in recruiting at this year’s Career Fair can sign up by using the registration form, contacting GIA’s Career Services office at (800) 421-7250 ext. 4100, or emailing kimberly.overlin@gia.edu.

WHEN:         Friday, Oct. 10

                       8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

                

WHERE:       GIA

 5345 Armada Drive

Carlsbad, CA 92008

(Above Flower Fields and across from LEGOLAND)

            

MORE:         GIA, creator of the famous 4Cs of diamond quality (Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat weight) and the International Diamond Grading System™, has educated more than 350,000 gem and jewelry professionals worldwide.

The 83-year old nonprofit institution is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in diamonds, gemstones and pearls through education programs, laboratory services and research discoveries. GIA has graded some of the world’s most famous diamonds and gemstones, including the Hope Diamond, Taylor-Burton Diamond and Centenary Diamond.

GIA hosted its first Jewelry Career Fair in 1991 in Santa Monica, Calif. Since then, the event has expanded and linked gem and jewelry companies with future employees at more than 50 events in India, and in Las Vegas, New York and the GIA world headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif.

Susan Jacques, GIA’s president and CEO, moderating the opening panel discussion 

“Job Success in Today’s Market” at GIA’s Jewelry Career Fair in 2013. © GIA.

 

A recruiter meets with a job candidate at GIA’s Jewelry Career Fair in Carlsbad. © GIA.

GIA Field Researchers Document Sri Lanka's Industry from Mine to Market

Press Release via GIA:

GIA Field Researchers Explore the Island of Jewels

Documenting Sri Lanka’s industry from mine to market, Feb. 2014

Jewelry composed of substantial amounts of 22K gold is popular throughout
Sri Lanka. Photo by Andrew Lucas; © GIA. 

In a Feb. 2014 GIA expedition to Sri Lanka, Field Gemologist Andrew Lucas and Video Producer Pedro Padua gained access to a gemstone world rich in tradition and potential. The team spent two weeks on the island documenting their findings for a series of research articles and videos. The country – known in Sanskrit as “Ratna Dweepa” or “Island of Jewels” – is a centuries-old gemstone source and center for mining, trading and cutting that has made evolutionary and revolutionary changes to its industry over the last two decades, making it a key international participant in the modern market.

River mining involves constant dragging motion with mammoties
to scoop out the illama for washing. Photo by Andrew Lucas; © GIA

The research duo visited gemstone mining, cutting, trading, jewelry manufacturing, pawning, and retail centers and businesses that represented the activity for each market sector. There they discovered a dynamic industry that blends traditional methods and market practices with a definite movement to modernization for the global marketplace. Updated import and export regulations have opened the path for Sri Lankans to acquire rough gemstones from around the world, revitalizing their trade, while a domestic retail, manufacturing and pawning industry for 22K gold jewelry continues to thrive alongside new jewelry markets for younger generations.

At this pit mine in Ratnapura miners haul the overburden and gravel
up in buckets by a hand powered winch. Photo by Andrew Lucas; © GIA.

“I’ve never seen such a complimentary combination of traditional practices, new technologies, skill sets and strategies to meet the needs of future domestic and international markets as in the exotic gem-rich island of Sri Lanka,” said Lucas. “Traditional cutting lives side-by-side with modern technology, producing cuts with the highest standards. Modern business practices incorporate the trading expertise of generations of Sri Lankans, creating a brisk marketplace. And artisanal mining practices blend harmoniously with mechanized mining where logical.”

As Sri Lanka develops their industry some traditional practices, such as the
 mining of this pit with hand tools, prove to still be effective.
Photo by Andrew Lucas; © GIA.

In keeping with its mission to ensure the public trust in gems and jewelry, GIA regularly conducts research field trips to important gem and jewelry centers around the globe, incorporating findings into research practices and education programs and relaying information to the trade and public through a series of channels. Findings from the Sri Lanka field trip will be featured in an upcoming Gems & Gemology (G&G) article, as well as field reports and video documentaries on www.gia.edu.   

About GIA

An independent nonprofit organization, GIA (Gemological Institute of America), established in 1931, is recognized as the world’s foremost authority in gemology. GIA invented the famous 4Cs of Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat Weight in the early 1950s and in 1953, created the International Diamond Grading System™ which, today, is recognized by virtually every professional jeweler in the world.

Through research, education, gemological laboratory services, and instrument development, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science, and professionalism. Visit www.gia.edu. 

GIA Adds Scholarship Memorializing Former VP Operations

GIA Announces Tawfic Farah Memorial Scholarship

Institute also awards scholarships to 151 students in 29 countries

GIA (Gemological Institute of America) has announced the Tawfic Farah Memorial Scholarship, which will be offered beginning June 15, 2014. The annual scholarship will award full tuition for an on-campus student to pursue their Graduate Gemologist (GG) diploma, including the required Diamond Grading, Colored Stone Grading and Gem Identification lab classes. The first scholarship will be for a student at GIA’s campus in Mumbai, and will rotate throughout GIA’s global campuses in subsequent years. The application period each year will run through Oct. 31 and is available on GIA’s website atgia.edu/scholarships.

Tawfic Farah, GIA’s former vice president of
International Operations.  Image © GIA

Tawfic Farah, GIA’s vice president of International Operations who passed away in May 2013, made a lasting and important contribution to the Institute’s mission by building strong relationships in Africa and the Middle East; working tirelessly to expand education and beneficiation efforts in Africa; and supporting the global expansion of GIA’s services. He served GIA and the global public for 10 years with a passion and drive bolstered by humor and compassion.

“Tawfic helped countless people, both students and members of the trade, by working to bring GIA’s education programs to communities involved in the gem and jewelry industry throughout the world. He helped build GIA’s relationships with governments and to create opportunities and choices where few had previously existed,” said Susan Jacques, GIA’s president and CEO. “In keeping with the vision Tawfic gifted to GIA, we honor him in a way that reflects his personal passion and continues the great contributions he made to the communities that are part of our industry. His always positive and effervescent presence will be greatly missed.”

In Jan. 2014 the Institute awarded its Fall 2013 scholarships to 151 students in 29 countries. The scholarships, totaling more than $500,000, align with GIA’s goals of providing quality education in gemology and jewelry to the trade and aspiring professionals. Supported by private donors and the GIA endowment fund, these scholarships supplement GIA’s wider scope of offerings. Recipients are eligible to participate in distance education eLearning courses and on-campus classes in Bangkok, Carlsbad, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York and Taiwan; and at the GIA branch in Dubai. 

In 2013, GIA awarded nearly $600,000 in scholarships to 190 students throughout the world.

About GIA

An independent nonprofit organization, GIA (Gemological Institute of America), established in 1931, is recognized as the world’s foremost authority in gemology. GIA invented the famous 4Cs of Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat Weight in the early 1950s and in 1953, created the International Diamond Grading System™ which, today, is recognized by virtually every professional jeweler in the world.

Through research, education, gemological laboratory services, and instrument development, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science, and professionalism. Visit www.gia.edu.   

GIA to Develop World-Class Pearl Testing Facility with Bahrain

GIA Collaborates with Bahrain to Develop World-Class Pearl Testing Facility

Memorandum of Understanding helps the Kingdom build on its pearling history

The Bahrain Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and GIA (Gemological Institute of America) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help develop the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Gemstone and Pearl Testing Laboratory (GPTLB) into a world-class research centre for natural pearls.

“We’re pleased to contribute GIA’s expertise and research  to build on Bahrain’s history and reputation as a leading centre for natural pearl research and production,” said Tom Moses, GIA’s executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer.

The initiative, which was agreed on in Nov. 2013, is to protect and enrich Bahrain’s pearling industry by increasing capacity, research, expertise and technology at the GPTLB, and by identifying further opportunities for growth. The memorandum builds on Bahrain’s history as a world pearling centre, an industry once considered the backbone of the Kingdom’s economy.

“This is an exciting development for Bahrain’s pearling industry. By working in partnership with GIA, the GPTLB will be provided with the facilities and expertise required to capitalise on regional and international trade and investment opportunities in this fast growing sector,” said Dr. Hassan Abdullah Fakhro, the minister of Industry and Commerce.

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with GIA, a leading source of research, standards, and education in gems and jewellery, to ensure the GPTLB has the tools required to boost Bahrain’s pearl production capacity,” added H.E. Kamal bin Ahmed, Minister of Transportation and Acting Chief Executive of the Bahrain EDB. “Historically, pearling was the backbone of our economy, and we want to capitalise on our heritage, combined with world-class techniques and processes, to create a centre of excellence for the industry here in Bahrain.”

GIA has an established presence in the Middle East, conducting education programs and courses in major trade centres including Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

About GIA

An independent nonprofit organization, GIA (Gemological Institute of America), established in 1931, is recognized as the world’s foremost authority in gemology. GIA invented the famous 4Cs of Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat Weight in the early 1950s and in 1953, created the International Diamond Grading System™ which, today, is recognized by virtually every professional jeweler in the world.

Through research, education, gemological laboratory services, and instrument development, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science, and professionalism. Visit www.gia.edu.