It has been just over 20 years since Gems & Gemology was redesigned and the “new” format introduced. Looking at the dozens of covers of these issues, which dominate the walls of my office, I think of the incredible effort that went into each one—the thousands of hours that our authors and staff invested in every issue to do the research, write and refine the articles, and acquire the best illustrations. I also think of Harold and Erica Van Pelt, who photographed the vast majority of the cover images, as well as the many individuals who loaned valuable gemstones and jewelry for them to capture on film.

What am I proudest of? The quality of the information and the depth of knowledge each issue represents. Today, 20 years after the first issue of the redesigned G&G appeared, the articles in that issue—on peridot from Zabargad, cubic zirconia, and the detection of diamond simulants—are just as solid and useful as they were in April 1981. Certainly, since then there have been new peridot localities, changes in CZ, and more diamond simulants, but these articles continue to serve as a solid base for ongoing research on those topics.

In the past two decades, we have published over 5,500 pages of timely—and timeless—articles, Lab Notes, Gem News entries, Book Reviews, and Gemological Abstracts. This is truly a treasure chest of information. But how do you access it? How do you find what you need?

We are pleased to provide a solution: our Twenty Year Index (1981–2000). We have revised and updated the subject and author listings from our first 15 years, and added the annual indexes for the last five. In the course of preparing this Index, we were all struck by the changes that were necessary since our first index was published in Winter 1981—changes not only in gemology, but also in geography and technology, many of them interrelated.

For example, the most significant change to the geopolitical landscape since the Spring 1981 issue has been the breakup of the Soviet Union. For our industry, however, this change has been more profound than the simple replacement of names on a map. With the new socioeconomic climate in this region has come an influx of natural gem materials onto the world market—most notably from the release of diamonds that were in the government stockpile, but also from renewed mining activity for such classic gems as demantoid garnets. There also has been an unprecedented impact on the availability of synthetic gem materials—new synthetic rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and quartz varieties, to name but a few. Russian high pressure/high temperature (HPHT) presses are now synthesizing diamonds in virtually every color.

In other regions, names that were unknown to most of us only five years ago are now part of the gemological parlance—Tunduru in Tanzania, Ilakaka in Madagascar, Ekati in Canada. The availability of these significant new deposits of sapphires, rubies, and diamonds has shifted the balance of supply and demand. At the same time, it has presented greater challenges to gemologists in identifying sources and treatments.

Scientific advances in the U.S. and elsewhere also have brought us synthetic moissanite, the first diamond simulant to match the thermal properties of diamond. Whereas there was almost nothing written on diamond treatments in the 1980s, articles on diamonds that have been fracture filled or HPHT processed are prominent in the current index. Our first index simply referred to “spectroscopy.” Today, there are entries for more than 10 different types of spectroscopy. Laser Raman microspectrometry—which we first reported on only three years ago—is now used routinely in major gem labs around the world to identify inclusions and gem materials, as well as to recognize HPHT annealing in diamonds.

For this veteran of two decades of G&G, the Author Index offered a distinct pleasure as I was reminded of those who have contributed so much to the journal. “Godfathers” of gemological research such as Robert Crowningshield, Edward Gübelin, Richard T. Liddicoat, and Kurt Nassau were joined by an impressive group of new researchers such as Emmanuel Fritsch, Henry Hänni, Bob Kammerling, Bob Kane, John Koivula, Shane McClure, Tom Moses, Ken Scarratt, Karl Schmetzer, and James Shigley, among many others.

We hope that you too will enjoy using the index and find it a valuable reference tool. Explore the thousands of entries to learn what you need to know to stay abreast of the rapidly evolving world of gemology.