Blue sapphires are currently being mined on an exploratory basis from alluvial deposits at the Lindi mine, near the town of Mingxi in Fujian Province. The geology and occurrence of the sapphires ...

Although lost for literally hundreds of years after the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, many deposits of jadeite have been found in Guatemala during the last two decades. Following the discovery of ...

Twenty-six peridot samples from the Esquel pallasite meteorite and 27 samples from 10 terrestrial sources were studied by laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LAICP- MS). Among ...

Jewelry-quality synthetic malachite is now being manufactured in the USSR. The texture, structure, and physical and physico-chemical properties of this synthetic malachite are reported. Three textural ...

Figure 1. The largest known natural moissanite crystal, found along the Kishon River in northeastern Israel, measures 4.1 mm in its longest dimension. Photo by Vered Toledo. Synthetic silicon carbide ...

A synthetic gem material is one that is made in a laboratory, but which shares virtually all chemical, optical, and physical characteristics of its natural mineral counterpart, though in some cases, ...

Consumers know diamond from the slogan “A Diamond is Forever”. With some care considerations this is relatively true. The Asscher cut was popular decades ago and is again a very popular cut style.

Established in 1931, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is the world’s foremost authority on diamonds, colored stones, and pearls. A public benefit, nonprofit institute, GIA is the leading ...

Because laboratory-grown diamonds are essentially chemically and optically the same as natural diamonds, traditional gemological observations and instrumentation are not able to tell them apart. GIA ...

Attain your dream of a GIA education with the help of a scholarship, grant, or loan. GIA also accepts outside sources to fund your education, including vocational rehabilitation and Veterans’ benefits ...

Fine-color, large, and eye-clean (lacking visible inclusions) rubies like this 11.01carat (ct) stone from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) are extremely rare and valuable. – Photo: Robert Weldon/GIA.

The 75.47-carat Hooker Emerald was worn by Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Photo by Chip Clark, courtesy Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural ...