Thoughts from the President - Remembering The Shipley Legacy

As most of you know, when JCK magazine surveyed the industry for their December 1999 issue, they selected Robert M. Shipley, GIA’s founder, as the individual (along with his wife, Bea), who did more to shape the jewelry industry than any other in the past hundred years. Even more remarkable is the fact that Mr. Shipley retired in 1952 and made virtually all of his contributions in the first half of this century. To me this says that GIA remains among the most relevant organizations in the industry today. It says that our legacy is well-founded. It says that the goals we have for the future are important - not just to us - but to an entire industry and public that rely on our commitment to knowledge, ethics and standards.

And that is the proud legacy Robert M. Shipley has left us. For an artist, a legacy might be a painting, a sculpture or a book. But for those of us who lead people, we earn a legacy by entrenching a vision for the future into the minds and, more importantly, into the hearts of individuals - and onto the invisible web of human relationships found in any firm or organization.

Mr. Shipley did just that. So, while GIA is not yet the household word that he once envisioned, that doesn’t prevent our leadership from continuing to strive for it.

I say strive because there are still those who are threatened at times by the power of knowledge and information. And in a world full of cynics, I believe that GIA must stand out. Because gemology - the study of gems - is grounded in knowledge about valuable and precious products, it is fundamentally a moral study. You can’t appraise without gemology. Nor can you sell honestly, or effectively, without Mr. Shipley’s legacy of knowledge, ethics, and standards.

A legacy can’t grow out of a desire to please and impress others. It comes from a deeper place, where you know who you really are and what your purpose in life is. Then gradually, you uncover your mission, and make it real.

Robert M. Shipley taught us that.

At last month’s Tucson shows, Lab Notes contributing editor Karin Hurwit saw beautiful black cultured pearls that were harvested from Baja California in 1999. According to ITESM (the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, in Mexico) these represent an unprecedented success in culturing pearls in the rainbow-lipped pearl oyster, Pteria sterna, native to the Gulf of California. The GIA Gem Trade Laboratory subsequently had the opportunity to examine a few smaller pearls.

The off-round pearls ranged from approximately 7 mm to 9 mm in diameter. Their bodycolor mimicked the characteristic colors of the host oyster, primarily light and dark grays and browns, as well as blacks. In addition, some of the samples displayed strong purplish pink overtones, with green in some areas. The fine suture lines in the nacre, which cause the optical effects such as orient and overtone in pearls, were tightly spaced and very prominent in texture. All the cultured pearls showed a metallic luster.

X-radiography revealed the round bead nuclei used in the culturing process. The samples fluoresced a distinctive red to long-wave UV, with some variation in intensity. This fluorescence serves as an identifying characteristic of pearls from Baja California. (See Gem Trade Lab Notes in Spring 1991, p. 42, and Summer 1992, p. 126, for more background information).

To learn more about Gems & Gemology or to subscribe contact the Subscriptions Manager, Debbie Ortiz mailto:dortiz@gia.edu or call toll-free 800-421-7250 ext. 7142 or outside the US and Canada 760-603-4000 ext. 7142. Or visit G&G at http://www.gia.edu/gandg/

In the future, it is likely that the quality of synthetic diamonds will improve. One result may be fewer metallic inclusions in the faceted stones. If this happens, gemologists will continue to use magnification as a starting point in the separation of natural and synthetic diamonds, but they will focus on growth features, rather than inclusions. Even now, in cases where included crystals and flux cannot be positively identified, magnification is used to study growth features, such as color zoning in colored diamonds and graining.

To observe color zoning in colored diamonds, use diffused light in conjunction with magnification. (Immersion in a liquid such as methylene iodide may also be helpful in cutting down on distracting reflections and creating a larger window of light transmission through the stone.) Natural diamonds may exhibit planar bands of color. If such bands are present, they usually are distributed irregularly throughout the stone. In contrast, synthetic diamonds tend to show distinct color zoning along internal growth sectors, with highly colored and pale colored areas separated by sharp boundaries. Such zoning in a synthetic may form geometric patterns (square, octagon, cross-shape, columnar). If an "hourglass" pattern is present (related to octahedral and cubic growth sectors), this proves synthetic origin.

Graining in a synthetic diamond also follows a combination of cubic and octahedral growth and can create a "stop sign" or "hourglass" pattern. The latter is easiest to see when looking through the pavilion of a faceted stone. At times, graining is difficult to locate; it is best seen using a combination of darkfield illumination and fiber-optic lighting. (Source: G&G, Winter 1995)

Next issue: Ultraviolet Fluorescence.

GIA’s Jewelry Career Fair 2000 will take place on Friday, June 9 at GIA’s Robert Mouawad Campus in Carlsbad, CA, on the day preceding Commencement 2000, and again on Friday, July 28 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York just preceding the JA Show.

Now in its 10th year, Career Fair has become the single largest recruiting event in the gem and jewelry industry, providing employers and job seekers with a common meeting ground to discuss the latest job opportunities. More than just a job fair, Career Fair is designed to bolster the professional development of the industry. Seminars on the latest market and employment trends, one-on-one career counseling, and a slate of workshops help to encourage a lifetime commitment to the jewelry industry.

Career Fair is free to job seekers and open to anyone interested in pursuing a career in the industry. The Carlsbad and New York Career Fairs held in 1999 attracted a total of 1,600 job seekers and approximately 80 companies.

If you are an employer searching for outstanding employees or a job seeker in the market for an outstanding employer - it’s not too early to start planning for this recruitment and career opportunity extravaganza.

Job seekers should call 800-421-7250 ext. 4100 or 760-603-4100 or mailto:careerfair@gia.edu
Recruiters should contact Anna Lisa Johnston, GIA’s Career Services Manager, mailto:ajohnston@gia.edu or call, 800-421-7250 ext. 4255 or 760-603-4255.

GIA’s Jewelry Career Fair 2000 is made possible through the support of Prime Sponsors: National Jeweler and Jewelers of America, Inc.; Sponsors: JCK International Publishing Group and Professional Jeweler; Affiliate Sponsors: Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America, the Johnson Family’s Diamond Cellar, and Samuel Gordon Jewelers. Career Fair was founded by GIA and the 24 Karat Club of Southern California.

REMINDER: All GIA Gemologists, Graduate Gemologists, Graduate Jewelers and Graduate Jeweler Gemologists, are invited to attend GIA’s Commencement 2000, a formal graduation ceremony held in your honor on Saturday, June 10, 2000, 3:00 PM. Join fellow graduates from 1931 to the present at GIA’s Robert Mouawad Campus in Carlsbad, CA, to celebrate your achievement with a gala reception, dinner dance, class reunions, and a host of other activities.

If you’d like to receive a formal invitation to the event, please mailto:grad2000@gia.edu

For more information about GIA’s Commencement 2000, call 800-421-7250 ext. 4321. Outside the US and Canada, call 760-603-4321, FAX 760-603-4456

Are you a GIA graduate who is a cut above when it comes to your career in the gem and jewelry industry? GIA Alumni and Associates would like to publicize your achievements in GIA print publications and on the Web. Send your press releases, photos and supporting information about promotions, industry accomplishments, educational training, and other relevant data to GIA Communications Manager Carol Burke mailto:cburke@gia.edu or 5345 Armada Drive, MS 36, Carlsbad, CA 92008. Call toll-free 800-421-7250 ext. 4130 or outside the US and Canada call 760-603-4130. Look for your colleagues’ accomplishments on the new and improved GIA Alumni and Associates Web page at http://www.gia.edu/alumni/index.cfm

The Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library and Information Center is the world's largest and most up-to-date source of gemological information. The Library maintains the finest collection of gemological books available, as well as a comprehensive collection of jewelry-related sources. The Library is now seeking to add to its gemological skill base by adding a Library Manager and a Research Librarian to its professional staff to assist scientists, jewelers, gemologists, and students.

Diamond Graders/Staff Gemologists (New York and Carlsbad)
Because of the continuing strong demand for services provided by the GIA Gem Trade Laboratory, we have career opportunities for detail-oriented, computer-literate team players. Microscope experience is a plus.

Contact GIA’s Human Resources departments in Carlsbad or New York by:
Telephone:
Carlsbad 760-603-4054
New York 212-221-5858 ext. 3111

FAX:
Carlsbad 760-603-4099
New York 212-997-7661

Or by Mail:
5345 Armada Drive, MS 8, Carlsbad, CA 92008
580 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036

Alternative ways to contact the Robert Mouawad Campus in Carlsbad, CA:
mailto:recruiter@gia.edu - submit resumes as MS Word documents please or call the GIA Career Hotline at: 760-603-4000 ext. JOBS (5627)