During the depths of the Depression, a middle-aged man with little more than ambition and charisma revolutionized the gem and jewelry industry. Robert M. Shipley established the Gemological Institute ...

Field reports, videos, photography, and firsthand accounts from mines and industry hot spots around the world.

The geographic source of this rare color-change gem has a significant impact on value. Trace element chemistry profiles allow GIA to accurately determine origin for alexandrite from several countries.

Figure 4. Eldorado Bar is one of the sapphire-bearing gravel bars that have been mined for over 150 years. The operation is visible from the Missouri River. The small gravel mound in the foreground is ...

When people hear the word diamond, colorless diamonds generally come to mind—not the more exotic colors discussed earlier in this article series. In purchasing a diamond, they are likely to choose one ...

Presents findings from observations of oval-, pear-, and marquise-shaped diamonds, laying the groundwork for a fancy cut grading system.

The identification of natural, man-made and treated diamonds has been the principal focus of the gem research program at GIA for more than 60 years. This is a group of natural colored diamonds (0.38 ...

Part 1 of 5 in the series: Value Factors, Design, and Cut Quality of Colored Gemstones (Non-Diamond). This article discusses the major value factors that affect the price of a colored gemstone.

Since its discovery at the beginning of the nineteenth century, infrared light has proven to be a versatile tool for scientists, industrialists, and consumers. The gem industry has benefited from the ...

Industry analysts project that by 2025, 20% of all diamonds on the market will be laboratory-grown. Indeed, the gem industry has seen a significant increase in the quantity, size, and quality of ...

In the spring of 2001, I was studying gemology in Yangon, Myanmar, thanks to the support of U Kyaw Thaung, a Burmese merchant from Mogok. It was a great period in my early life as a gemologist, living ...

Along with the skyrocketing price of white nephrite, there is also a developing market for green nephrite in China. However, limited local supply has forced the Chinese to seek outside resources, ...