From left, winning authors Dr. John Emmett, Dr. Wuyi Wang, and John Koivula.

First place went to “Beryllium Diffusion of Ruby and Sapphire” (Summer 2003), by Dr. John L. Emmett and a team of ten co-authors. This article provided an in-depth report on Be-diffused corundum and the gemological and other tests that can help identify this new treatment. Dr. Emmett is a physicist and principal of Crystal Chemistry in Brush Prairie, Wash.

Receiving second place was “Gem-Quality Synthetic Diamonds Grown by a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Method” (Winter 2003), by Dr. Wuyi Wang and five co-authors. This article presented a complete description and identifying characteristics of Apollo Diamond Inc.’s facetable, single-crystal type IIa CVD synthetic diamonds. Dr. Wang is a research scientist for GIA Research and Identification in New York.

Third place was awarded to John I. Koivula’s “Photomicrography for Gemologists” (Spring 2003), which reviewed the fundamentals of gem photomicrography and discussed the newest techniques in the field. Mr. Koivula is chief research gemologist at the GIA Gem Laboratory in Carlsbad.