GIA Offers Colorful Opportunities at Tucson
Institute to host classes; offer lab service, seminars & more
From a free seminar that explores recent gemological discoveries and research to an exquisite collection of musical instruments carved from gem materials, GIA’s offerings at the 2015 Tucson shows will enhance the visitor experience. The Institute’s participation at the shows – which also includes a show service laboratory, lab class, two fee-based seminars, library exhibit and the GIA Alumni Association’s annual event – will be at the Tucson Convention Center during the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) GemFair™, Feb. 3-8, and the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, Feb. 12-15.
GIA’s highlights at the 2015 Tucson shows include:
GIA Museum Exhibit
GIA’s museum exhibit “Symphony in Gemstones” will bring music to the eyes at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, Feb. 12-15. Twenty one pieces commissioned by Art Sexauer, GIA museum benefactor, and hand-carved by master carver Lothar Hermann of Idar-Oberstein, Germany, make up an exquisite collection of musical instruments in gem materials and 14K yellow gold. Featured are tourmaline violins, a Persian turquoise trumpet, lapis saxophone, a tiger’s-eye harp and a black onyx grand piano with a white quartz keyboard and a rose quartz tuba.
GIA Library Exhibit
GIA’s library will feature two of its rarest books at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, Feb. 12-15: James Sowerby’s “British Mineralogy” and Martha Proby’s one-of-a-kind “British Mineralogy after James Sowerby.” A mineral specimen, aragonite, which is featured in both books, will be on view courtesy of The Natural History Museum in London. The case will also include photographs and a map.
GIA Show Service Laboratory at AGTA GemFair
Show attendees will have convenient access to gem identification and country-of-origin services through the GIA Show Service Laboratory. GIA will accept gemstones onsite at the AGTA GemFair in the Onyx Suite Monday through Saturday, Feb. 2-7 from 9 a.m. to 5p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 8 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Free GIA Seminar
On Friday, Feb. 6 from 9 to 10 a.m., GIA’s Distinguished Research Fellow Dr. James Shigley will provide a free seminar on “The Latest News from GIA Research.” This will include an update on the Institute’s latest research on diamonds, colored stones and other timely topics of interest.
GIA Education
GIA will offer one fee-based lab class and two fee-based seminars during the AGTA GemFair™. Pre-registration is required; call GIA admissions at (800) 421 7250 ext. 4001 to register for the seminars, and visit GIA’s website to register for the lab.
Diamond Grading Lab Class
Monday through Friday, Feb. 2-6, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The lab class will teach how to grade diamonds consistently and accurately using a modern gem microscope and a jeweler’s loupe. Participants study GIA’s Diamond Grading System; explore time-saving shortcuts to determine a variety of grading factors; and are introduced to methods for reading a GIA Diamond Grading Report. Participants must pass a two-stone practical test to complete the class successfully.
Identifying Heat Treatment of Corundum
Saturday, Feb. 7, 9 to 11 a.m.
Participants will discover why corundum is heat-treated, and how different forms of heat treatment can alter ruby and sapphire. The seminar, which includes a lecture and hands-on lab component, will teach the identifying characteristics of heated and unheated corundum, and how low-temperature heat treatment and differences in corundum types can lead to complications during the identification process.
Identifying Glass Fillings and “Healed Fissures” in Corundum
Saturday, Feb. 7, 1 to 3 p.m.
High-lead-content glass fillings are currently the most common treatment found in ruby, while “healed fissures” are one of the most misunderstood ruby treatments on the market. In this seminar, comprised of lecture and a hands-on lab component, students learn the identifying characteristics of these treatments, why they are done, and to which types of corundum they are applied.
GIA at the CAD/CAM Pavilion
GIA’s Jewelry Manufacturing Arts program is at the forefront of jewelry design education – from 3D printer rapid protoyping and casting to prefinishing, setting and buffing. Throughout the AGTA GemFair Tucson, GIA experts will answer questions and discuss a variety of relevant topics, including CAD/CAM, zero-shrinkage from CAD file to photopolymer models to rough castings, jewelry engineering priorities, jewelry design concepts, 3D scanning of gemstones and importing content into CAD files for use in making jewelry, and Quality Assurance Benchmarking criteria when CAD modeling. The ongoing series will take place in the AGTA CAD Design Studio, booth #450 in the Gem Hall.
Party at the GIA Gem Mine: Rocking Down Under
The GIA Alumni Association will “rock” Tucson during its annual auction, dinner and dance party on Friday, Feb. 6 from 6:30 to 11 p.m. at the Marriott University Park Hotel. Ticket prices are $55 prior to Jan. 15; $65 after and at the door. GIA alumni, students and industry friends can click here to purchase tickets.
For more details about the Institute’s offerings at the AGTA GemFair™, visit GIA’s website.
An independent nonprofit organization, GIA (Gemological Institute of America), established in 1931, is recognized as the world’s foremost authority in gemology. GIA invented the famous 4Cs of Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight in the early 1950s and in 1953, created the International Diamond Grading System™ which, today, is recognized by virtually every professional jeweler in the world.
Through research, education, gemological laboratory services, and instrument development, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science, and professionalism. Visit www.gia.edu.
