Summer 2010

GIA Symposium 2011: Advances in Gemological Research

The premier event in gemology is back! In celebration of its 80th anniversary, GIA is bringing its Inter national Gemological Symposium home. Next May 29 and 30, immediately preceding the 2011 JCK Show, GIA will host a conference dedicated to the latest developments in gemological research and the gem and jewelry industry. Combining the best of Symposium, which has educated thousands over the last three decades, and the more recent Gemological Research Conference, GIA Symposium 2011 will have two parallel tracks: Advances in Gemological Research and Advancing the Gem Industry. It will be held at GIA’s world headquarters in Carlsbad, California. This event will marry technological advances with a search for solutions to the problems jewelers and gemologists face in the laboratory and in their businesses.

• Advances in Gemological Research, co-chaired by noted research scientist Dr. James Shigley and G&G editor Brendan Laurs, will focus on topics such as diamond and colored stone identification, new technologies and instrumentation, and gem localities and locality determination.
• Advancing the Gem Industry, which GIA’s Kathryn Kimmel and I will co-chair, will explore topics in the broader gem and jewelry industry, such as appraisals, pearls, jewelry history, and challenges in the buying and selling of gems.

Each session will feature presentations by prominent scientists and industry experts from around the world. Symposium 2011 will also include a poster session, chaired by GIA Library director Dona Dirlam, where presenters will display innovative research projects on various aspects of gemology. To take advantage of the proximity to San Diego’s historic pegmatite district, we will offer field trips to working gem mines before the conference. Other optional activities include hands-on workshops and a visit to the spectacular “All That Glitters” gem and jewelry exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Natural History.

If you’re interested in participating in either track as a speaker or a poster presenter, please submit an abstract no later than January 10, 2011. Guidelines are available on the conference website at symposium2011.gia.edu. All abstracts will be reviewed by experts in the field, and abstracts of oral and poster presentations given at the conference will be published in Gems & Gemology. The nominal registration fee will include meals during the event, and discounts will be given for students and early registration.

We’re pleased to report that travel grants will again be available to presenters who demonstrate appropriate need. For more information on travel grants, please see the conference website.

Since our last symposium and research conference in 2006, gemology has faced a number of new challenges and developments: 1+ ct CVD synthetic diamonds, composite rubies, sophisticated coatings on diamonds and other gem materials, and numerous new localities and gem minerals. Likewise, the business of gems has had to wrestle with economic woes, political embargoes, and heightened consumer awareness of issues such as fair trade and environmental protection. By bringing together the best and brightest from the many disciplines involved in the study of gems and jewelry, we can address these issues more effectively. You won’t want to miss it.

For more information on GIA Symposium 2011, go to symposium2011.gia.edu.

May 29–30, 2011. Save the date!

Alice S. Keller
Editor-in-Chief