Figure 1. The GIA 7 Pearl Value Factors system classifies pearls according to size, shape, color, luster, surface, nacre, and matching. Composite photo by GIA staff. Prized by many cultures throughout ...

Gem-quality diaspore occupies an important position in the gem market due to its rarity, striking pleochroism, and color-change phenomenon (figure 1). The material’s value depends on these factors. A ...

This chart focuses primarily on the types of natural inclusions found in tourmaline, as well as the minerals in which tourmaline can be found as an inclusion. Treatments such as enhancement of ...

CARLSBAD, Calif. – August 26, 2025 – GIA, the Gemological Institute of America, will launch revised evaluation services for D-to-Z laboratory-grown diamonds on October 1. Current GIA laboratory ...

The Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana, owned and operated by Lucara Diamond Corp., has gained international recognition for producing large, high-quality type IaB or coexistence of IaB with IIa diamonds ...

Raman spectroscopy confirmed the identity of the material as pezzottaite by an intense peak at ~1100 cm –1, which is not present in beryl. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy showed features ...

CARLSBAD, Calif. – June 2, 2025 – Beginning later this year, GIA (the Gemological Institute of America) will start using descriptive terms to characterize the quality of laboratory-grown diamonds and ...

Each summer, when the waters off Florida’s east coast are calm enough for shallow diving, treasure hunters from 1715 Fleet Queens Jewels explore the seafloor for artifacts lost in a Spanish shipwreck ...

The micro-world of gems lies at the very core of gemology. Information gathered from observations through the microscope serves as the very foundation for many conclusions drawn on a specimen, ...

Carved single-crystal diamond rings are rare, with few examples to reference (see Spring 2020 Lab Notes, pp. 132–133). But with advancing technology in the laboratory-grown diamond industry, the ...

Figure 1. This group of rock crystal quartz from Brazil shows vibrant blue dumortierite inclusions. The largest rough crystal weighs 139.79 ct, and the faceted stone weighs 15.47 ct. Photo by Kevin ...

Figure 1. A suite of nine rubies from the Rock Creek sapphire deposit in Montana. The stones range in weight from 0.172 to 0.578 ct. Photo by Kevin Schumacher, courtesy of Jeffrey R. Hapeman, Earth’s ...