Old friends and new partners. Old challenges and new solutions. Old institutions and new business models. In late August, GIA hosted two events that attracted some of the oldest and most respected names in the gem and jewelry industry as well as some of the newest practitioners of gemology. Held in San Diego, California, the 4th International Gemological Symposium and first-ever GIA Gemological Research Conference surpassed all expectations.

With an attendance of 1,332, Symposium (August 27–29) literally offered something for everyone. At the opening session, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright gave her thoughtful perspective on the geopolitical issues affecting the world today. She also unabashedly admitted her love of jewelry and how she would carefully select the brooch she wore on a particular day to signal her mood to the state leader with whom she was meeting. Out of respect for our industry, Secretary Albright generously waived her regular speaker’s fee for this occasion.

In other keynote addresses, “retail anthropologist” Paco Underhill looked at how studying the behavior of shoppers can anticipate their wants and needs. Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson stressed the importance of opening ourselves up to the imagination that came to us naturally as children. Catch Me If You Can’s Frank Abagnale captivated the audience with tales of his early adventures as a master criminal—and his later career as a fraud-prevention expert. Mind-body pioneer Deepak Chopra provided clues to connecting with the world around us. In the closing ceremony, industry statesman Maurice Tempelsman focused on the value of traditions and the imperative of transitions. Both Secretary Albright and Mr. Tempelsman kindly allowed publication of their prepared remarks in this Proceedings volume.

During the speaker sessions that constituted the main program, successful business leaders and scientific experts shared their experience and intellect. They looked at the future of the diamond industry—exploration in Canada, the emerging Chinese market, the impact of the De Beers Supplier of Choice program, the importance of branding, and the need for fair trade initiatives. They examined the risks and rewards of reinventing their businesses, of pursuing new distribution channels, of seeking out untreated and underappreciated colored stones. They taught us the keys to good jewelry design, the challenges in luxury retailing, and the opportunities for researcher and retailer alike in new identification technologies. Leading producers and distributors brought us up to date on pearl farming in the South Seas, Tahiti, and China. And business experts from Japan, Dubai, Italy, and India foretold the future in these key trade centers.

We are pleased to bring you abstracts of all the industry speaker presentations in this volume, as well as summaries of the “hot topic” panel on consumer confidence and the six debate centers. The debate center themes—the Pit, the Ring, and the Jungle—give some idea of the intense, no-holds-barred exchanges between panelists as well as audience participants. Scenes from the various sessions, as well as from the incomparable evening events, are featured here in the photomontage.

Of special interest to the Gems & Gemology reader, GIA’s first Gemological Research Conference (August 26–27) was an overwhelming success, drawing a sellout crowd of more than 700 registrants. This volume includes the abstracts of the 121 oral and poster presentations at that event, as well as 28 posters in the Symposium Poster Session. Presenters and attendees alike came from some 32 countries and dozens of laboratory/research organizations. One of the event’s recurring themes was the need for gemologists to cooperate with one another to solve the very serious problems facing the industry. We hope the GRC was an important step in furthering that cooperation, and planning is already underway for the second conference, in August of 2009.

To all who took the time to present at Symposium and the GRC, we cannot thank you enough. To all who traveled to San Diego to participate, we enjoyed having you as our guests. To our generous sponsors and our Board of Governors, we couldn’t have done it without you. And a huge thanks to the hundreds of GIA staff members who helped organize and run these events. As many attendees told us, you were the true stars. Special kudos go to former GIA president Bill Boyajian, the architect of the Symposium program; GRC co-chairs Brendan Laurs and Jim Shigley; Poster Session chair Dona Dirlam; event planner Carol Moffatt; and Symposium coordinator Kathy Gilmore. They put in countless hours over the last three years to provide a truly unique experience over four days in August.

It was our privilege to join GIA chairman Ralph Destino, acting president Donna Baker, and Board chair Helene Fortunoff in hosting these events.

Kathryn Kimmel and Alice Keller
Co-chairs, 4th International Gemological Symposium