Gemstone Fracture Filling: Labs Find It in Ruby, Tourmaline, Spinel and Garnet—Are You Still...
"We are seeing oiled stones outside of emerald every single day in the lab, and yet there is so little awareness about it in...
In Memoriam: Professor Mimi Ou Yang (1933–2026)
The international gemological community has lost one of its great educators, researchers, and pioneers with the passing of Professor Mimi Ou Yang Chiu Mei,...
Does the Emerald Still Match the Report? – SSEF Issues Trade Alert
TRADE ALERTSSEF - the Swiss Gemmological Laboratory
SSEF Issues Trade Alert After Identifying Re-Filled EmeraldsAccompanied by Earlier "No or Minor Enhancement" Reports
Picture this:
An emerald with...
GCAL Expands 8X Grading to Cushion Cuts: How Much Precision is Enough — and...
For decades, diamond grading reports have documented a stone's color, clarity, carat weight, and proportions. Yet anyone who has spent time comparing diamonds knows...
Into the Stone: Photomicrography from E. Billie Hughes
This time, Billie Hughes gives us something rarely seen: a before-and-after-and-after-again look at what happens to an inclusion during heat treatment.
As gemologists, we are...
SSEF Trade Alert: Fraudulent filling of fissures in emeralds after they have been laboratory...
TRADE ALERTSSEF - the Swiss Gemmological Institute
Based on a number of recent cases, the Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF is issuing a trade alert concerning...
GIA and the Science of Origin Determination: The Research Behind the Report
AGTA's DYNAMIC Seminar with Dr. James Shigley, Dr. Aaron Palke, and Wim VertriestGIA's Team Discusses What it Takes to offer a Country of Origin...
Too Much Chromium? When Red Gems Stop Glowing
For generations, gemologists and jewelers have been taught a simple rule: chromium makes red gems beautiful. It is the element behind the glow of...
In Memoriam: George Peter “Pete” Yantzer
George Peter “Pete” YantzerNovember 10, 1948 - January 10, 2026
George Peter “Pete” Yantzer, a respected gemologist and influential figure in modern diamond grading, passed...
GIA to Update Colored Gemstone Reports: More Country-of-Origin Gems on the List
GIA, the Gemological Institute of America, will launch redesigned colored stone reports and new services on January 1, 2026. The new reports will feature...
Into the Stone: Photomicrography from E. Billie Hughes
"One of the beauties of working with gemstones is that each time you peer into a stone, you get a glimpse of the universe...
Into the Stone: Photomicrography from E. Billie Hughes
Here we have a close-up of a "fingerprint" inclusion in a Madagascar sapphire, shown before-and-after heat treatment. In this paired photomicrograph series by E....
