Pre Conference Limassol Tour
Gem Workshop and Cocktail Party
Conference Talks and Gala Dinner
Invited Octonus Representative (Octonus, Finland)
Diamond Impression – The Key to Sustainable Competitiveness
People value diamonds’ miracle: brilliance, fire, etc., while trade commoditized the product offering 4 C’s, being technically unable to promote the key consumer values. Thus diamonds consistently loose competitiveness against luxury sector; other luxury goods consistently grow in addressing people’s self-expression desire. But from now on the coming technology allows demonstration and comparison of diamond magical performance in big-scale with fine details.
Modern knowledge rapidly creates the category of High-Vibrancy diamonds (Hi-Vi) – superbly impressive diamonds with a range of superior consumer benefits (brilliancy, fire, table color, symmetry, spread, etc.). Historically triple excellent round was the first Hi-Vi; it took centuries for the industry to craft it.
Hi-Vi diamonds to be promoted with a new optical performance digital “loupe”, when even inexperienced buyers can easily appreciate performance difference at the highest levels of brilliancy, fire and scintillation, which is critically important for the mass market of relatively small diamonds.
The new technologies allow consumers’ enjoy self-expression and the industry savor the sustainable market growth
John Chapman (Gemetrix, Australia)
The Economics of Faceting Diamonds
Diamonds are cut and polished from rough which varies in shape and size from near 2 mm to tens of carats. The stones are cut, shaped and polished using several methods that include lasers, grinding, and polishing wheels. The costs of each of these operations depends on the technology used and size of diamond. Depending on the country, these costs can be a major factor in the profitability of transforming a rough diamond into a facetted gem. Value adding can also be performed on existing facetted diamonds that are coloured, transforming them to a higher colour grade.
Dr. Michael Schlamadinger (Swarovski, Austria)
Man-Made Diamonds – Beyond Science
The past years have seen a very dynamic transition of man-made diamonds from a niche item to a product that has been making its place into fashion and high end jewelry. The main driver is of course the continuous improvement of diamond growth technologies, but economies of scale and competition between various players have have fuelled the market dynamics. The entrance of de Beers with its Lightbox jewelry line may become a game changer of the pricing structure of man made diamonds. The developments of the past years will be highlighted with milestones and backgrounds, and possible scenarios for the future will be presented. Non economic issues like sustainability and environmental impact will also to be covered.
Garry Holloway (Holloway Diamonds, Australia)
Poorly Proportioned Diamonds Cheat Buyers
Most poorly proportioned diamonds appear smaller because of light leakage at the edges. Until now there has been no way to estimate the smaller (or larger) appearance of different diamonds when buying online. A new software system reveals the apparent size a diamond– the “Looks Like Size”. By inputting a diamond’s weight, dimensions and cut proportions, often from a GIA grading report, a result is given of a visual apparent carat size compared to a benchmark (6.44mm) well-cut round brilliant. Most diamonds look much smaller than indicated by their carat weight.
Supporter’s Talk
Katrien De Corte (HRD Belgium)
Challenges in Screening Colourless CVD Diamonds
More and more jewelers are selling synthetic diamonds today. The distinction between natural and synthetic stones is crucial given that the value of synthetic diamonds is lower than that of their natural counterpart.This presentation provides an overview of the latest generation of synthetic stones and how to detect them.
Ruby Sponsor Talk
Dr. Stefanos Karampelas & Abeer Al-Alawi (Bahrain Institute for Pearls & Gemstones, DANAT)
Building DANAT’s robust database: From the Mine to the Lab
Research director – Dr. Stefanos Karamplelas and Executive director – Abeer Al-Alawi will talk about the construction of DANAT’s gems library. The presentation will cover how the samples are retrieved from all over the world and then organized and prepared in the DANAT lab for accurate gemmological, chemical and spectral analysis. The talk will also cover how these cutting-edge analytical tests can help lab gemmologists.
Edward Boehm (Rare Source Gems, USA)
Ethical Sourcing of Gems and Importance of Origin – Spinel Case study
Country-of-origin has always played an important role in high-end gems and this trend continues today, but the added element of traceability is changing the impact and importance of third-party verification. Ethical sourcing is a focus for many dealers, but recent sustainability and transparency requirements from larger retail chains are adding layers of responsibility that gem traders and gem trade organizations are working diligently to address. Spinel is one of the most underrated gemstone, historically confused with ruby as royal gem. They come from Burma, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Tanzania, Madagascar, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. It is possible to separate spinels from different origins by inclusions and trace chemistry and determine if they are natural colour or heated. Modern tools including block chain technology that assisting gem traders discover and support ethical sources are becoming more available as demand increases.
Dr. Stefanos Karampelas & Abeer Al-Alawi (Bahrain Institute for Pearls & Gemstones, DANAT)
Natural Bahraini Pearls
Bahrain was, and still is, considered a center for the natural pearl trade. It is the only country in the world that legally bans the trade of cultured pearls. Since 2012, the Bahrain Pearling Trail has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, which includes natural pearl fishing areas. Annually, several thousand gem quality natural pearls are harvested; mainly from the shallow areas in the waters around Bahrain. Most natural pearls found in P. radiata mollusks and they have a wide range of shapes, luster and colors. Their average size is 3-6 mm; round pearls bigger than 9 mm are rare. Blister natural pearls could be found in bigger sizes. Gemmological, spectroscopic, chemical and internal characteristics of these pearls will be presented, along with some important items adorned with natural pearls collected off Bahrain.
Stefan Müller (DSEF Lab, Germany)
Notes from the German Gem Lab DSEF (Idar-Oberstein)
A mix of gemmological topics are experienced by gem labs and this presentation will cover new gemstones from Africa (especially Ethiopia, Mozambique and Madagascar, the origin of Paraiba (Copper-Bearing) tourmalines, low temperature treatments of ruby from Mozambique, clarity enhancements of ruby, sapphire, tourmaline and other gems, reversible color modifications of zircon, and unusual imitations.
Dr. Clemens Schwarzinger (Clemens Schwarzinger Gemstones, Austria)
Gem Cutting in the 21st Century – Weight Retention or Precision Cuts?
In order to bring out the best in a rough stone it has to be cut and facetted. But what is a good cut and how does it influence the appearance of the gem? It sounds pretty simple: follow the laws of physics and create a pattern that reflects as much light as possible – if only all stones were of bright color and to be cut in rounds. In reality we have to deal with light and dark material, di- and trichroic stones, cleavage planes and of course all kinds of shapes in the rough that somehow dictate the shape of the final gem. However, there is a striking difference between trying to retain as much weight as possible and trying to cut the best looking gem. A journey will be taken through the dos and don’ts of gemstone designing.
Gamini Zoysa (Ceylon Gemmological Services, Sri Lanka)
Values of Rubies and Sapphires from Different Localities
Sri Lanka is one of the foremost countries which produce high quality sapphires. The colour of Sri Lankan blue sapphires vary from paler hues of Blue to vivid blue . Modern cutting and heat treatments at local facilities are common in last 20 years. The mines also produce many other varieties of sapphires namely Padparadsha, pink, orange, colorless, and purple. The asteriated varieties namely are unique and are popular among the collectors . The value of sapphires & Rubies depends on their origin and gemmological features from which will be discussed in detailed.
OCTONUS
Sergey Sivovolenko & Roman Serov
Octonus is a pioneer in applying technology to optimise the value of cut diamonds, including instruments to plot inclusions and software to plan highest value cuts. The company is also noted for developing advanced software to understand the appearance of facetted diamonds including those of fancy colour. Research by Octonus to analyse what makes a diamond ‘beautiful’ has allowed them to develop special cuts based on the findings and create instruments which allow effective diamond-beauty-focused communication throughout the production chain up to the end users.
John Chapman
John Chapman has worked in the diamond industry for over 30 years specialising in technological aspects. His work has covered the industry pipeline from exploration, mining, recovery, sorting, faceting and grading. Much of his learning and application has been with Rio Tinto Diamonds where he was manager of diamond technology. He now consults to the industry and constructs the ‘Inspector’ range of instruments for synthetic diamond detection.
Dr. Michael Schlamadinger
Dr. Michael Schlamadinger is Head of Procurement for the Swarovski Gemstones Business. He graduated from the University of Graz in Mineralogy and Petrology in 1990. Additional to his role as a purchaser of rough and cut natural and synthetic gems, he has been in the market of man-made diamonds for well over 6 years.
Garry Holloway
Garry Holloway has a BSc in Applied Geology and a Gemmology & Diamond Diploma (GAA). He has been active in consumer diamond education focusing on cut quality as a director of Pricescope on which he ran Holloway Cut Adviser. He Invented the ideal-scope in 1984 and a version of the ASET scope in 1987. Patent applications by Garry include shop lighting for diamonds, ‘Looks like’ diamond size and several with the Cut Group (Sergey Sivovolenko, Janak Mistry and Yuri Shelementiev). Garry currently runs two Melbourne jewellery stores he founded in 1976 – Holloway Diamonds.
Katrien de Corte
Katrien started her gem career as a research scientist at HRD Antwerp. She specialized in research and development of decision rules and techniques to discriminate natural from synthetic and treated diamonds. Now she is head of Education at HRD, Antwerp and teaches gemmology at the University of Ghent as a guest professor. She established HRD Antwerp schools around the world, and developed new courses.
Dr. Stefanos Karampelas
Dr. Stefanos Karampelas is the Research Director for the Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones (DANAT). He holds an Advanced Gemmology Diploma from the University of Nantes (France), a PhD in Materials Physics from the same university, a MSc in Geosciences from the University of Rennes (France) and a BSc in Geology from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Stefanos is a lecturer for the Advanced Gemmology Diploma at the University of Nantes, France, on pearls, laboratory methods applied to gems as well as origin determination of coloured gems. He has published over 40 research papers on different gem material in various scientific journals, contributed to books, delivered various lectures and visited several gem mines and pearl farms around the globe. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Gems and Gemology and an Associate Editor of The Journal of Gemmology.
Abeer Al Alawi
Abeer Al-Alawi is the Executive Director for the Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones (DANAT). She has over 25 years’ experience in the gemstone testing industry, having held various positions in Bahrain. Her career began in 1992 as a hallmarking specialist at Assay followed by a move to the Gem and Pearl Testing laboratory. She then became Head of the Gem and Pearl Testing Laboratory for 10 years and the Director of Precious Metal & Gemstones for 3 years before moving to DANAT. Abeer holds a Bachelor (Hons) in Jewellery Design and Silversmithing from University of Buckinghamshire (U.K.), a diploma in Gemmology (FGA), in diamond grading from GIA and she is also a Certified Diamond Grader (CDG; HRD Antwerp).
Edward Boehm
Edward Boehm is a colored stone dealer and consultant. He began his gemological studies in Switzerland where he spent the summers of his youth under the tutelage of his Grandfather, Dr. Edward J. Gübelin. Boehm began his career working for Overland Gems in Los Angeles and then joined the Gübelin Gem Lab in Lucerne, Switzerland, to further develop his skills in gem identification and research. He worked with Bill Larson at the renowned colored gemstone and mining firm of Pala International for five years before venturing out on his own “Rare Source Gems” in 1996. In 1992, Dr. Gübelin invited Edward to accompany him to Burma to visit the famous Mogok valley. They were the first western gem dealers in 35 years allowed to visit the famous gem producing area.
Stefan Müller
Stefan Müller studied Geosciences at the Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz. His special interest is origin determination of various coloured gemstones working with LA-ICP-MS, EDXRF, EPMA, UV-Vis-NIR, IR and studying inclusions with Raman microscopy. Since 2016 he has worked for the DSEF German Gem Lab and is currently undertaking a PhD about HPHT treatment of natural and synthetic diamonds.
Dr. Clemens Schwarzinger
Dr. Clemens Schwarzinger is associate Professor for chemistry at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. In 2016 he founded the Center for Scientific Gemmology at the University Linz. He is owner of a small company which is dedicated to precision gemstone cutting and developing novel cut designs. In 2017 he won the US Faceters Guild Single Stone competition in the Master category. He is one of twelve artists invited to participate in the lapidary extravaganza From Somewhere in the Rainbow at the 2019 Tucson show.
Gamini Zoysa
Gamini Zoysa FGA & GG worked on Mineralogy of Embilipitiya gem deposits for his PhD thesis. He has discovered several new gem deposits including Sapphirine and colorless Enstatite . Currently he is the director of the International Colored Gemstone Association ( ICA ) for Sri Lanka. He is the managing director of the Ceylon Gemmological Services which certifies and appraises gems and jewellery.
Gail Brett Levine
Gail Brett Levine, GG, independent personal property appraiser, has been in the jewelry trade for over 30 years. She received her GG diploma in residence from GIA (NY) in 1980 and serves on the Executive Council of the GIA Alumni Association and the Association for the Study of Jewelry and Related Arts. Currently, she is the Executive Director of The National Association of Jewelry Appraisers, the largest gem and jewelry appraisal organization in the United States. Ms. Levine is also President of Timeless, Inc. (1982 to present) specializing in insurance, estate, and donation appraisals. In 1994, she started the subscription based publication Auction Market Resource for Gems and Jewelry.
Travis Lejman
Travis Lejman, GIA GG, has been in the industry for 20 years. He is the second generation in his family and has recently taken over & continues to grow the company his father started in 1979. After receiving his BSc. from Stony Brook University in 2005, Travis continued on to graduate with his G.G. in 2006 from GIA New York’s residency program, and later going on to receive his F.G.A. accreditation from Gem-A in 2013. Over the last 6 years, Travis and his business partner, Joshua Lents, have added new advanced testing capabilities to their laboratory division.
Branko Deljanin
Branko Deljanin is President at CGL-GRS, Canadian Gemlab in Vancouver (Canada). He is a research gemologist with extensive experience in advanced testing of diamonds and gemstones to determine origin of color. Branko is instructor of “Advanced Gemology” programs on diamonds and coloured stones offered in 15 countries on 4 continents. In 2001 he earned his Advanced Gemology Diploma (DUG) from the University of Nantes in France. He has been a regular contributor to trade and gemological magazines and presented reports at a number of research and gemological Conferences, including Mediterranean Gemmological and Jewelry Conference that he co-founded in 2015.
Yianni Melas
After graduating as gemmologist at GIA, Yianni became an instructor at GIA. Later, Melas began working for Swarovski as a rough stone buyer operating in several remote locations around the world. In 2004, after fourteen years at Swarovski, he joined the Lev Leviev Group, a leading diamond manufacturer. Through his work he sought to develop Botswana’s gem industry, with the belief that supporting an industry with business opportunities would help create jobs, and would allow self-empowerment to thrive. His concern for the welfare of Africans saw him stage a much publicised hunger strike in 2018. In 2015 he discovered a new blue green gem in Africa, which he named Aquaprase™. This year he is launching his trademarked jewelry brand, Yianni Melas™.
Day 1 – Friday May 17 – Intermediate Gem Workshops
Morning (9:00 AM to 12:45 PM): Workshop & Lab on Opals: A Playful Array of Colors
Instructors: Gail Brett Levine, CIGA GG and Travis Lejman, FGA (NAJA, USA)
Assistant: Angelina Yip (CGL-GRS, Canada)
Class Size: Max 30
Audience: For gemmologists, appraisers, and individuals with trade experience
This four (4) hour workshop is presented by Gail Brett Levine & Travis Lejman is based on Dr. Paul B. Downing’s system of grading and identifying opals.
We will start of in a lecture portion to get a base line down on opals. We will go over, types, formation, localities, treatments and properties on what to look for in grading and valuation. Quality of different types of opal and pricing would be covered. We will review items discussed in the book. Our hands-on section will look at 124 opal samples from around the world and of varying qualities.
What to bring: 10x loupe, pen light, tweezers, stone cloth, and a copy of Opal Identification & Value book by Dr. Paul B. Downing, Ph.D. If you don’t have it the book or a pen light, there will be some for sale. An OTT lights will be provided.
Afternoon (1:45 PM to 5:30 PM): Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald Workshop
Instructor: Branko Deljanin (CGL-GRS, Canada)
Assistants: Elena Deljanin (CGL-GRS, Canada), and Angelina Yip (CGL-GRS, Canada)
Class Size: Max 30
Audience: For gemmologists, appraisers, and individuals with trade experience
Historically ruby, sapphire and emerald are the most significant colored stones. Rubies and emeralds are expected to have some inclusions because of their growing environment, that can help with identification (natural, treated or synthetic). Heating is an accepted treatment in the trade and today, almost all but the finest rubies are routinely heated, and almost all emeralds are oiled / clarity enhanced. Sapphires have some natural inclusions that in combination with spectroscopy can help identify a sapphire’s country of origin. Yellow, orange and blue sapphires can be heated with additional lighter elements to induce color. Lattice diffusion with beryllium is more permanent than traditional titanium diffusion treatment. There is new deposit of emeralds in Ethiopia that has different characteristics than emeralds from Columbia, Brazil or East Africa
Participants we will look at inclusions in ruby, sapphire and emeralds from different localities, detection of heat treatments and lead glass-filled rubies and oiled emeralds with a microscope and loupe. Different fluorescence reactions will be examined with PL Inspectors
Day 3 – Sunday May 19 – Intermediate / Advanced Diamond Workshops
Morning (9:3o AM to 1:15 PM): Diamond Optical Performance / Diamond Beauty Workshop
Instructor: Sergey Sivovolenko, Roman Serov (OctoNus)
Class Size: Max 20
Audience: For appraisers, all levels diamond trade, gemologists, strategic analysts, designers
- Cornerstone diamond data of greatest consumer value, which are absent in Lab grading reports: Beauty and Spread. How to describe these features, observe them in real diamonds and effectively communicate to clients.
- Perceived expressions of Diamond Beauty: various outstanding combinations of Brilliance, Fire and Scintillation dependent on diamond shape/proportions and viewing conditions.
- Diamond Spread – the important sales tool and source of client’s satisfaction
- Diamond movies – the new convenient way to demonstrate to clients key optical effects and pinnacles of Diamond Beauty.
PRACTICAL WORKSHOP:
- Explore an exclusive selection of polished diamonds with a range of top optical performance and make sure how perceived diamond beauty depends on the parameters, like:
- lighting settings (office, disco, outdoor lighting conditions);
- distance from diamond to observer;
- diamond size;
- diamond surface cleanliness.
- Listen to and practice a professional talk on Diamond Beauty using Diamond collections on a smartphone. It includes stereo movies demonstration with a smartphone.
PRACTICAL TAKEAWAYS:
- Know-how to increase chance of repeated purchases, using:
- selection instead of rejection mode of communication;
- positive motivation as the result of Diamond Beauty selection process relevant to client’s personality.
- Unlimited capacity to promote interactively your and your partners’ inventory either in person or remotely anytime anywhere (shop, plane, restaurant, on-the-go, on-line, networks, different casual occasions)
IMPORTANT NOTE: participants are advised to consider bringing a suitable smartphone to have a chance of exploring Diamond collections with own device. The requirements are: iPhone 7 / newer with latest iOS 12 or Android phones with Full HD / higher display resolution or Android 8 / higher.
Morning (9:00 AM to 12:45 PM): ID of Colourless Diamonds (Natural, Treated, and Lab-grown) Workshop
Instructor: Branko Deljanin (CGL-GRS, Canada)
Assistants: George Spyromilios (IGL, Greece), John Chapman (Gemetrix, Australia)
Class Size: Max 30
Audience: For gemmologists, appraisers, and individuals with trade experience
- Colourless Natural diamonds: sources, characteristics and identification
- Methods of growing HPHT and CVD diamonds
- Inclusions in Natural and Synthetic diamonds
- UV lamp – reaction of different diamonds, loose and mounted with “PL / Jewellery inspectors”)
- CPF (Cross Polarized Filters) method and instrumentation to screen and ID diamond’s origin
- Clarity and Color Enhancements – unstable (Fracture Filling and coating),
- Clarity Enhancements – stable (Traditional Lasering, KM Laser drilling)
- Post treatments of CVD-grown colorless diamonds (HPHT)
- ID of HPHT-enhanced diamonds using advanced instruments
- ID of mounted synt. diamonds with EXA instrument and screening instruments
- Problems and solution in identification of melee natural and synthetic diamonds
PRACTICAL WORKSHOP: Samples of Ia, IIa, IIb, Ib diamonds (natural synthetic origin) are tested with microscopes, mini UV lamp (“PL inspector”) and Mini Polarioscope with Portable light and advanced instrument EXA Natural diamond detector
Afternoon (1:45 PM to 5:30 PM): ID and Grading of Coloured Diamonds (Natural, Treated, and Lab-grown) Workshop
Instructor: Branko Deljanin (CGL-GRS, Canada)
Assistants: John Chapman (Gemetrix, Australia), George Spyromilios (IGL, Greece)
Class Size: Max 30
Audience: For gemmologists, appraisers, and individuals with trade experience
- BROWN, YELLOW and ORANGE diamonds: sources/producers, characteristics and ID
- GREEN and CHAMELEON diamonds: source/producers, characteristics and ID
- BLUE diamonds: sources/producers, characteristics and ID
- PINK/RED diamonds: sources/producers, characteristics and ID
- Use of Standard Instruments to separate Coloured Natural and Synthetic Diamonds
- Color Enhancements – stable (irradiation, annealing, HPHT, multistep treatments)
- Post treatments of HPHT-grown and CVD-grown diamonds (irradiation)
- Identification methods for treated diamonds with advanced instruments at labs
- Grading and Certification of coloured diamonds at gem laboratories (Munsell book of colour)
PRACTICAL WORKSHOP: Coloured Diamonds are tested with portable polarioscope with portable light, PL Inspector and microscope in screening and identification and advanced instrument EXA Natural diamond detector.
The conference will take place May 17 – 19, 2019 in Limassol, Cyprus.
Ajax Hotel Limassol
Welcome to 5th Mediterranean Gemmological and Jewellery Conference in Cyprus May 17-19th.
Fifth Mediterranean Gemmological and Jewellery conference will take place at Limassol, Cyprus on May 17-19, 2018. The major theme of MGJ Conference 2019 in Montenegro will be “Manufacturing of Diamonds and Gems” and 10 speakers will cover this topic. Speaker from Octonus (Finland), John Chapman (Gemetrix, Australia), Dr. Michael Schlamadinger (Swarovski, Austria), Gary Holloway (Holloway Diamonds, Australia), Stefan Miller (DSS lab, Germany), Dr. Clemens Schwarzinger (Clemens Schwarzinger Gemstones, Austria) and Gamini Zoisa (Ceylon Gemmological Services, Sri Lanka) are confirmed speakers until now.
Gemologists, appraisers and dealers will also be offered hands-on experience at four workshops on oplas, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and synthetic diamonds.
Tours & Activities
Pre-Conference Half Day excursion – Limassol: Past and Present
Visits to:
- Kourion Amphitheatre
- Limassol Old Town
- Limassol Marina
First visit of the day, a visit to the former city kingdom of Kourion founded in 12 th century BC. Here the guests will visit the Greco-Roman theatre with its breath-taking coastal view and the early Christian mosaics in the House of Eustolios and the Kourion Basilica. The guests will then have a chance to visit the old part of Limassol town. They will be able to visit the Limassol Marina, an exclusive waterfront development recently finishing and designed by a world-renowned team of architects and engineers. It combines elegant residences and a full- service marina with exclusive restaurants and shops, to create a lifestyle uniquely shaped by ‘living on the sea’.
Visits to:
- Kourion Amphitheatre
- Limassol Old Town
- Limassol Marina
First visit of the day, a visit to the former city kingdom of Kourion founded in 12 th century BC. Here the guests will visit the Greco-Roman theatre with its breath-taking coastal view and the early Christian mosaics in the House of Eustolios and the Kourion Basilica. The guests will then have a chance to visit the old part of Limassol town. They will be able to visit the Limassol Marina, an exclusive waterfront development recently finishing and designed by a world-renowned team of architects and engineers. It combines elegant residences and a full- service marina with exclusive restaurants and shops, to create a lifestyle uniquely shaped by ‘living on the sea’.
Post-Conference Full Day Excursion – NICOSIA: A Divided Capital
Visits to:
- Handicraft Centre
- Archaeological Museum
- Byzantine Museum
- Laiki Gitonia & Green Line
A visit to any capital is a must, but Nicosia is unique in that it is the only remaining divided capital in the world today.
The contrast of the old and new is most evident in Nicosia, with its modern architecture and old city within the Venetian ramparts of the16th century. Nicosia is a city boasting many important historical monuments and interesting museums.
The first stop will be the Handicraft Centre. The centre aims to promote and enrich the traditional folk art and craft skills. It has various workshops and a showroom/shop where the guests may be able to view and purchase handmade items.
The guests will then visit Nicosia’s Archaeological Museum; here there are artefacts go back to 7000 BC. The Archaeological Museum of Lefkosia consists of fourteen rooms surrounding a square main area and it is comprised with offices, a library, storerooms and areas for preserving and studying items of the collection. The objects in the rooms follow a chronological and a thematical succession.
The next stop is the Byzantine Museum and Art Galleries, an Archbishop Makarios III Foundation Cultural Centre with the largest collection of icons on the island, covering the period from the 9 th to 18 th century. The Art Galleries contain oil paintings, maps and lithographs.
Last stop ‘Laiki Gitonia’, the restored commercial quarter of the old city. Here the guests will be able to have a stroll and visit the picturesque shops which sell traditional items. They will also have the possibility to visit the “Green Line”, the area which presents the last divided capital of the world.
Free time will be given for a stroll, lunch and shopping!
Post-Conference Full Day Excursion – Tel Aviv: Diamond Capital
May 20 (Monday)
Evening Flight from Larnaca (airport on Cyprus). Stay in Tel Aviv hotel of your choice – email branko@cglgrs.com for recommendations.
- Departure 18:10 Larnaca Airport
- El Al Israel Airlines LY 2432
May 21 (Tuesday)
- 10 am: Meet at DDS Cutting Facility
- 10 – 11.30 am: Review process of choosing and buying rough diamonds
- “Marking Rough” and possibilities of cutting different shapes, current market state in Israel.
- Tour of facility with explanation of cutting tools
- 11.30 – 11.45 am: Question and Answer session with Owner
- 12.00 – 1.00 pm: Traditional Israeli lunch
- 1.00 – 2.15 pm: Visit to Sarine Technology lab
- 2.30 – 3.30 pm
- Lecture on “Provenance of Pink Diamonds”, Branko Deljanin, CGL-GRS Lab Canada, 30 mins
- Lecture on “Steps in ID of Synt. Diamonds”, Branko Deljanin, CGL-GRS Lab, Canada, 30 mins
- 3.30 – 4.30 pm: Demonstration of 4-5 Stations ID of Synthetic Diamonds with standard instruments (60min).
Notes
- Flight & Hotel costs not included
About Montenegro – The Pearl of the Mediterranean
Cyprus is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. Cyprus is located in Western Asia, south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel and southeast of Greece.
However, the Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts: the area under the control of the Republic and Cypriot Greek, located in the south, and comprising about 59% of the island’s area; and the north, administered by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, covering about 36% of the island’s area. Another nearly 4% of the island’s area is covered by the UN buffer zone.
Cyprus is a major tourist destination in the Mediterranean, Republic of Cyprus has been a member of the Commonwealth since 1961 and was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement until it joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.
Limassol is a city/port on the southern coast of Cyprus. It’s known for the centuries-old Limassol Castle, home to the Cyprus Medieval Museum and its collection of pottery and tombstones. On the seafront is the Prokymea (Molos) Sculpture Park, with sculptures by Cypriot, Greek and international artists. To the northeast is the Limassol Archaeological Museum, exhibiting artifacts from the Neolithic to the Roman period.