Authors should use the following guidelines when submitting a manuscript to Gems & Gemology, or the paper may be returned unreviewed. If you have any questions about these guidelines, or any other aspects of your topic, please contact Editor Brendan Laurs by e-mail (blaurs@gia.edu), fax (760-603-4595), or phone (760-603-4503). More detailed suggestions for preparing articles on gem localities, synthetic gem materials, instruments and techniques, and pearls can be found on the Tips for Publishing in Gems & Gemology page under “Suggested Outlines.”

Remember that these are general guidelines only. Your best source for appropriate topics is Gems & Gemology itself. Read the journal and consult the 25-Year Index (also on-line) to acquaint yourself with the breadth of material covered.

Gems & Gemology is published in English worldwide; foreign-language versions are also published in certain countries (translations are performed by GIA).

APPROPRIATE TOPICS

Gems & Gemology publishes original articles on gem materials and research in gemology and related fields. Appropriate topics include (but are not limited to) colored stones, diamonds, gemological instruments and identification techniques, gem localities, gem treatments, gem substitutes (simulants and synthetics), gemstones for the collector, jewelry manufacturing arts, jewelry history, legal issues related to gemology, and contemporary trends in the trade.

Manuscripts may be submitted as:

Feature Articles—full-length articles describing previously unpublished studies and laboratory or field research. Such articles should typically be no longer than 6,000 words plus tables, illustrations, and references.

Review Articles—comprehensive reviews of topics in the field. Length of text should not exceed 8,000 words.

Notes & New Techniques—brief reports of recent discoveries or developments in gemology and related fields (e.g., new instruments or identification techniques, gem minerals for the collector, and lapidary techniques). Articles for this section should be approximately 1,000–3,000 words.

Rapid Communications—brief descriptions of notable gem materials, localities, and identification or treatment techniques, as well as related topics such as museum exhibits and historical jewelry.  Articles for this section should be approximately 750–1,500 words. Submissions should be received no later than the following deadlines: Spring: Feb. 1, Summer: May 1, Fall: Aug. 1, Winter: Nov. 1. For more information, click here.

Gem News International—very brief (100–500 words) items on current events in the field or unusual gem materials.

Book Reviews—reviews of books and other publications (including media such as DVD and CD-ROM products) of interest to the G&G readership. Reviews are normally solicited by the editors. Unsolicited book reviews will be considered, but it is best to query the editorial staff before submission, as the book may already have been assigned to another reviewer. Publishers wishing to have books or other material reviewed should send one copy of each publication to the Managing Editor. Review the Guidelines for Book Reviewers for more information.

To be considered for publication, all contributions to Gems & Gemology must be original work not previously published in English. We will consider articles already published in languages other than English only on a case-by-case basis and only if the authors inform us at the time of submittal when and where the article was first published. It is our policy not to publish feature articles on single stones, unless the sample is of extraordinary scientific or historical importance (such as the Hope diamond). Notes & New Techniques on single stones will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Gems & Gemology also includes these regular sections: Lab Notes—reports from the GIA Gem Laboratory; and Gemological Abstracts—summaries of important articles related to gemology (please contact the Editor if you are interested in abstracting articles).

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

All text material (including tables, figure legends, and references) must be submitted as electronic files, with an accompanying hard copy or PDF version (if e-mailed). Microsoft Word (for Windows or Macintosh) is preferred for text.

Identify the authors on the title page only, not in the body of the manuscript or figures, so that author anonymity can be maintained during review (the title page is removed before the manuscript is sent to reviewers). The various components of the manuscript should be prepared and arranged as follows:

Title Page. Page 1 should include: (a) the article title; (b) the full name of each author; (c) each author's affiliation (the institution, city, and state or country where s/he was working when the article was prepared); and (d) acknowledgments of persons who provided samples or helped perform the research, prepare the report, do the photography, etc.

Abstract. Page 2 should repeat the title of the article, followed by an abstract. The abstract (no more than 150 words for a feature or review article, 75 words for a Note) should state the purpose of the article, what was done, and the main conclusions.

Text. Papers should follow a clear outline with appropriate headings. For example, for a research paper, the headings could be: Introduction, Background (e.g., a review of previous studies), Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. Use other heads and subheads as the subject matter warrants. Please avoid jargon, spell out the first mention of all nonstandard abbreviations, and present your material as clearly and concisely as possible. For general style (grammar, etc.), see The Chicago Manual of Style (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 15^th ed., 2003). For spelling, we use the latest edition of Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.

Important: Papers that describe original research must include a Materials and Methods section that contains, at a minimum, the numbers and descriptions of all samples examined and the techniques and instrumentation used to obtain the data.

References. References should be used for information taken directly from another publication, to document ideas and facts attributed to another writer, and to refer the reader to other sources on a particular subject. References must be cited in the body of the text (in parentheses), with the last name of the author(s) and the year of publication. Add the appropriate page number when citing a direct quote or a specific illustration or set of numbers or data; an example would be: (Koivula et al., 2000, p. 362). List references at the end of the paper in alphabetical order by the last name of the senior author. If there is more than one publication by that author or same group of authors, list those items in chronological order, starting with the oldest publication. List only references actually cited in the text (or tables or figures). A paper that lacks a reference section or is missing reference information may be returned unreviewed.

Include the following information, in the order given here, for each reference: (a) all author names (surnames followed by initials); (b) the year of publication, in parentheses; (c) for a journal, the full title of the article or, for a book, the full title of the book cited; and (d) for a journal, the full title of the journal plus volume number, issue number, and inclusive page numbers of the article cited; or (e) for a book, the publisher of the book and the city/state or country of publication. For Web pages, include the date accessed.

Sample references are:

Balfour I. (2000) Famous Diamonds. Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd., London.

Koivula J.I., Tannous M., Schmetzer K. (2000) Synthetic gem materials and simulants in the 1990s. Gems & Gemology, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 360–379.

Levinson A.A. (1998) Diamond sources and their discovery. In G. Harlow, Ed., The Nature of Diamonds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 72–104.

Welcome to GIA's online series of articles on diamond cut (2003) GIA on Diamond Cut, www.gia.edu/research/156/gia_on_diamond_cut.cfm [date accessed: Oct. 7, 2003].

Because of the Internet’s transitory nature, Internet-only references are discouraged unless the document or information is not easily available elsewhere. Gems & Gemology does not currently publish DOIs.

Personal communications (for unpublished information obtained from someone with particular expertise) should be cited in the body of the text only, as follows: (G. Rossman, pers. comm., 2002). Permission must be obtained from the people cited to use their names for this purpose. Such persons must also be listed, with their affiliations, in the Acknowledgments section. Personal communication references should be limited to unpublished information and should not be used as a substitute for proper literature review.

Tables. Tables can present a large amount of detail in a relatively small space. Consider using one whenever the bulk of information in a section threatens to overwhelm the text. Number tables in the order in which they are cited in the text. Every table should have a title; every column (including the left-hand column) should have a heading. Please make sure terms and figures used in the table are consistent with those used in the text.

Line Illustrations. We prefer that all line art (graphs, charts, etc.) be sent to us as an electronic file (.eps format preferred), accompanied by hard copy. If this is not possible, line art should be clearly drafted and the original sent to us (originals will be returned after publication). Non-digital illustrations should have a label with the appropriate figure number and the article title.

Art that is not your original work must be submitted with the appropriate written permission from the copyright holder(s).

Color Photographs. All photos should be sent in their original format, whether taken on film or with a digital camera. To maintain our standards of photo reproduction, 35 mm slides or 4 × 5 inch transparencies are preferred; high-resolution files (JPG or TIF format) are also acceptable. Please be sure to send original slides or transparencies, not duplicates or digital scans.  

Digital files should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (pixels per inch) at 4 x 5 inches (10 x 12 cm). Generally, an image that is at least 1200 pixels wide in its original form will be of sufficient resolution when printed. Remember, however, that this must be acheived with the proper settings on the camera; it is not possible to increase the actual resolution by digitally enlarging a low-resolution image.

For all digital images, it is best to send us the original, unedited files. Even if you have some experience with Photoshop or other photo-editing software, please do not make any alterations (such as cropping or resizing, adjusting color or brightness, or adding graphic elements such as letters or numbers) prior to submission. In the event you feel that changes need to be made to an image for technical or aesthetic reasons, please let us know when you submit your work.

Slides and transparencies should be labeled with the figure number. Digital figures must be sent as separate files; please do not send them solely as embedded figures within the text of the manuscript. You may upload large digital files to our ftp site; please contact the Managing Editor for instructions on access.

We reserve the right to reject photos that are not in keeping with the production standards of Gems & Gemology. Any photograph that is not the original work of the author(s) or otherwise owned by them must be submitted with the appropriate written permission from the copyright holder(s). Please contact the Editor if you need help finding appropriate photographers or specimens.

All physical originals will be returned to the authors after publication or rejection of the manuscript. Production copies of figures published in Gems & Gemology are retained by the GIA Visual Resources Library and may be displayed for educational purposes in GIA resident education classes; however, they are not reused or otherwise redistributed without permission from the copyright owner.

“Call Outs.” All figures and tables must be called out at the appropriate place in the text. Figures and tables must be numbered consecutively, starting with the first mention in the text.

Figure Captions. Include figure captions separately from the figures. Each caption should clearly explain, in complete sentences, the significance of the figure and any symbols, arrows, numbers, or abbreviations used therein. Information in captions must be consistent with the text. For photomicrographs, please indicate the field of view (or size of the object being photographed) in the figure caption. It is also acceptable to give the magnification of the image (e.g., magnified 20x), though field of view is preferable.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

Manuscripts can be submitted by either postal or electronic mail to the address below. Your manuscript package should contain: all electronic files (on CD-ROM if sent postal mail); one copy, printed on standard-size white paper (postal mail) or in PDF format (e-mail); any slides, transparencies, or line drawings of figures (slides and transparencies must be sent via postal mail; digital scans are not acceptable); and the signed copyright statement below (in PDF format if e-mailed). Manuscripts will not be sent for review until all these elements have been received.

Send all submissions to:

Thomas W. Overton
toverton@gia.edu
Managing Editor
Gems & Gemology
5345 Armada Drive
Carlsbad, CA 92008

If you are submitting your manuscript by e-mail, please be aware that our server may reject attachments larger than 5 MB. Larger files can be uploaded to our ftp site; please contact the Managing Editor for instructions on access.

Copyright. GIA acquires worldwide copyright to all submitted material upon publication. All submitted manuscripts (except those intended for Gem News International) must be accompanied by the following statement, signed by all of the authors (except those who are U.S. Government employees).

Pre-printed forms are available on the G&G Web site and from the Managing Editor. Papers will not be entered into the review process until the statement has been provided exactly as worded below:

“In exchange for the Gemological Institute of America (‘GIA’)’s efforts in reviewing, editing, and publishing (title of article) (‘the Work’) in Gems & Gemology (‘the Journal’), I (we) (‘the Author[s]’) transfer to GIA, its successors and assigns, all right, title, and interest in the Work as published in any medium of expression, together with full right and authority to claim all worldwide common law and statutory rights associated with and equivalent to copyright, including moral rights. GIA’s rights include but are not limited to: (1) electronic use in any form, including Internet publication in whole or in part; (2) compilation with other works, including in a print monograph and CD-ROM or other electronic databases; (3) serialization over one or more issues of the Journal; and (4) all other ancillary rights.

“GIA licenses back to the Author[s] the rights to: (1) excerpt the Work in other publications in lengths not to exceed 250 words; (2) reprint the Work upon prior written request to and approval by GIA; (3) make copies of the Work for use in classroom teaching or for internal distribution within the Author’s place of employment; (4) reuse all or part of the Work in a book written by the Author[s] after the Work is published in the Journal; and (5) present the Work orally at any function. Any copies or reprints of the article that the Author[s] make pursuant to these terms must include the following statement: ‘Copyright (date) Gemological Institute of America. All rights reserved. Used by permission.’ This transfer covers only copyright and related rights to the Work itself, and the Author[s] retain all other proprietary rights to the subject of the Work, such as patent rights.

“The Author[s] warrant that: (1) (he/she/they) is (are) the rightful owners of all right, title, and interest in the Work and have the authority to transfer all right, title, and interest to GIA; (2) (he/she/they) possess the right to enter into this agreement and to submit the article for publication; (3) the article is an original work that has not been published elsewhere; and (4) the article has been submitted in English to the Journal only and to no other publication.”

REVIEW PROCESS

Manuscripts are examined by the editorial staff and at least three reviewers. Authors will remain anonymous to the reviewers, and (unless specific permission is given) reviewers will remain anonymous to the authors. Decisions of the editors are final and are revealed to the reviewers after the process is complete. All material accepted for publication is subject to copy editing. Authors will receive page proofs for review and are held fully responsible for the content of their articles.