Lectures from leading Gemmologists, Dealers, and Diamond Experts on a broad range of subjects but crucial topics that are most worrisome to Jewellers, Gem Dealers and Appraisers.
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)
Synthetic diamond, dream or nightmare
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.