August 24, 2002 marked a very special day in the history of GIA, as we honored our beloved Chairman, Richard T. Liddicoat, who passed away July 23.  More than 500 people attended the tribute at GIA Carlsbad, where we hosted colleagues from as far away as Europe and Japan.

For me, Richard Liddicoat represented everything that was good and right about GIA.  For over 60 years, he gave selflessly to the education of aspiring jewelers and gemologists, and arguably contributed more to the professionalism and ethics of our industry than anyone before him, and likely anyone to follow.

Despite his many accomplishments, including the creation of the now world-famous diamond grading system, he was an extremely humble man.  Mr. Liddicoat always seemed to be in awe of the awe that others had of him.  He was kind and gentle, yet profound in his wisdom and understanding of both science and leadership.  Richard Liddicoat not only taught us about gems, which he loved, but he also taught us about character and integrity, qualities that he so abundantly held and graciously shared.

I will deeply miss Richard Liddicoat.  I will miss his warm smile, his sage counsel and his unending support.  But, in some sense, Mr. Liddicoat will live forever in the minds and hearts of all who knew this modest soul.  He was an inspiration to us all and a person well worth emulating.

I know you join in GIA’s sorrow, but also in our joy of having known such a great man.

Nearly 500 family members, friends, colleagues, and admirers from across the U.S. and foreign locales gathered at GIA in Carlsbad Aug. 24 to honor and remember the man renowned worldwide as The Father of Modern Gemology, Richard T. Liddicoat, who passed away July 23 at the age of 84.

In a series of moving and personal remembrances, those who were especially close to Mr. Liddicoat, from family members, to longtime colleagues who assisted him in building and advancing GIA, to lifetime friends who shared his love of golf, Mr. Liddicoat was praised as a man of incomparable intelligence, vision, achievement, dedication, loyalty, and integrity. GIA President William E. Boyajian, who was personally mentored by Mr. Liddicoat, said, “He was a giant in the gem and jewelry industry and a true hero of gemology. He translated gemology from a trade into a respected science, and his many achievements are such that they will likely never be equaled.”

Boyajian also said, in a comment reflective of others in their personal tributes, “He was a very gracious man, and incredibly humble for someone of his stature. He was an inspiration just to be around.”

Emae Bradbury, a close companion in Mr. Liddicoat’s later years, said, “This was a gentle, kind man who talked in a very positive way about every person he came in contact with.”

Al Woodill, former executive director of the American Gem Society (AGS), an organization also created by GIA’s founder, Robert M. Shipley, and strongly supported by Mr. Liddicoat, said, “I looked upon him as a brother, and I was amazed at how much this ‘brother’ knew.”

Robin Walker, a retired executive from De Beers, said, “We all need a hero, and I’m here to salute a very great hero, Richard T. Liddicoat.” Walker added, "His greatness encompasses a number of qualities, but what touched me especially strongly during this memorial service were the unanimously warm and deep human tributes to Richard T. Liddicoat, the man."

One of Mr. Liddicoat’s close friends, Gene Laroff, former president of the 24 Karat Club of Southern California, reflected on his personal character: “I don’t believe Dick Liddicoat ever had an ego thought in his mind. He was a people person, he had a great mind, and he was a loyal friend.”

In concluding the tribute ceremony, Boyajian told the audience, “I know Mr. Liddicoat would have loved what people had to say about him today. His contributions and memory will live for generations to come.”

The observance began in the atrium of GIA’s world headquarters, with a display of memorabilia and documents which depicted many of the achievements and highlights of Liddicoat’s remarkable and distinguished career with GIA. Then, in a two-hour Memorial Tribute Service, the participants first saw a video biography that described Liddicoat’s immense contributions to gemology and the jewelry industry – including creation of the international diamond grading system – and his monumental work in leading the development of GIA into a premier educational, research, and laboratory organization for the gem and jewelry industry. The video also illustrated the greatness of Liddicoat’s character and intellect, and the heartwarming personal qualities that made him admired and loved by all who knew him, as well as those who knew of him.

The Memorial Tribute [click here to view photos from the event] closed with a military honors ceremony in recognition of Mr. Liddicoat's four years of service in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In perhaps one of the most moving moments of the afternoon, a uniformed U.S. Navy honor guard presented the folded U.S. flag to Emae Bradbury as a bugler played taps against the backdrop of the setting sun.

For additional information about Richard T. Liddicoat’s remarkable life and singular accomplishments in the world of gems and jewelry, and to enter personal reflections, please visit the GIA Web site.

DIAMONDS: The De Beers Diamond Trading Company will cut back rough diamond allocations for the rest of the year. Gareth Penny, a DTC director, told clients that the DTC would allocate gradually smaller amounts at its September, October, and December sights.  There is no November sight. He said that having sold $2.84 billion of rough in the first half, and $1.1 billion in July and August, the DTC had reached its target and wanted to sell no more than $5 billion for the whole year.

Mark Boston, managing director of H. Goldie & Co., a DTC broker, noted that the premiums that buyers were willing to pay for rough have declined significantly from their highs of earlier this year. “As De Beers Managing Director Gary Ralfe predicted at the announcement of the DTC’s first-half figures, premiums on boxes have indeed fallen because of prevailing market sentiment and uncertainty. For example, crystals which were quoted at a premium of 10% at the July sight were now [at the August sight] quoted at 5%.”

Non-De Beers rough in Antwerp is much more difficult to find, according to Boston. It trades for several percentage points above comparable DTC goods, since the DTC reduced prices on some categories of rough earlier this year. Argyle reportedly sold $60 million of rough this month. The Canadian Ekati Mine sold a relatively small $25 million through its Antwerp office, he reported.

De Beers set a target this year of increasing worldwide diamond sales by 5%, to avoid coping with excess stock early next year. Its executives hope that the three-stone “Trilogy concept,” as well as a number of other marketing initiatives and increased advertising expenditure, will maintain diamond jewelry market share.

In a press release dated Aug. 16, Lazare Kaplan International reported a 30% decline in sales for the fiscal year that ended May 31, to $189.5 million. The company posted a net loss of $1.2 million for the year. Leon Tempelsman, president of Lazare Kaplan, attributed the sluggsh performance to "difficult economic conditions" during the past 12 months. LKI specializes in high-quality diamonds. While its results do indicate some softness in demand at the higher end, there is also increasing competitive pressure from other high-quality branded diamond lines. Independent retailers, the backbone of the branded/Ideal Cut diamond business, have become more cautious and have cut or postponed buying for inventory, even if sales have held up. In short, the number of branded, premium diamonds in the market keeps growing, even as the pie shrinks slightly.

RETAIL: A survey by a luxury marketing consultant reports that retail jewelry sales increased 4.3% during the second quarter of 2002 as compared with 2001. Unity Marketing’s latest research shows that, despite talk of economic downturns and a stock market collapse, U.S. consumers’ desire to buy jewelry this year is strong and growing.

“Last year, jewelry store sales were up a staggering 5.9% over 2000, but then they started to stagnate as the economic slowdown took hold. Store sales dropped even further in the third quarter after the 9/11 tragedy. But toward the end of the fourth quarter 2001, jewelry store sales began to rebound,” explained Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing, in a publicly released summary.

MACRO: The stock market has recouped much of its July losses this month, and news of corporate scandals has slowed considerably. If the gains hold, and the economy appears more stable, there’s a good chance for improvement in consumer attitudes just when jewelers need it most: in the fall.

The steep declines in the stock market over the past two months took time to penetrate the consumer psyche. Consumer confidence fell in July and August, and the Bank of Tokyo–Mitsubishi’s U.S. chain store sales index declined more than 1.5% in the past two weeks, the worst all year. Retailers hope this trend will be reversed with the stock market’s recovery.

Russell Shor
GIA Senior Industry Analyst

While in central Namibia in July 2002, G&G senior editor Brendan Laurs encountered two examples of imitation gem rough (see figure). Both were subsequently confirmed as glass by Phil Owens of the GIA Gem Trade Laboratory in Carlsbad, using FTIR spectroscopy.

In Karibib, a local dealer had a small parcel of rough amethyst that was reportedly from the Platveld area in Namibia. One piece was noticeably larger and more transparent than the others, although the color was typical for amethyst. Examination with 10× magnification revealed several gas bubbles, one of which could be readily seen with the unaided eye. Swirled growth zoning was also present, as was a partially healed fracture. All of these features are consistent with those seen in glass. The dealer obtained the material from an associate in Karibib, who had represented all of the “rough” as natural amethyst.

In Omaruru, gem and mineral dealer Chris Johnston (Johnston-Namibia C.C.) had a glass imitation of a tourmaline crystal that was obtained from local dealers. The dark greenish blue color was typical of tourmaline that is mined in the Karibib area. The shape of the “crystal” was also convincing, and the surfaces were partially rounded to give an abraded appearance. However, the striations that are typical of tourmaline were absent, and close inspection revealed that some of the edges were not perfectly parallel to one another. The imitation also had a lighter heft than would be expected for tourmaline, and it felt “warmer” to the touch than a natural stone. Microscopic examination revealed several minute gas bubbles and curved growth zoning, both of which are typical of glass.

Although both imitations were convincing at first sight, a trained gemologist could easily identify them in the field by careful observation of their surface and internal features, using 10× magnification.

For more gemological updates from around the world, see the Gem News International section of the upcoming Fall 2002 issue of Gems & Gemology. To order, visit www.gia.edu/gandg or contact Subscriptions Manager Debbie Ortiz at dortiz@gia.edu. Call toll free 800-421-7250, ext. 7142. Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 760-603-4000, ext. 7142.

In several previous articles of the GIA On Diamond Cut series, we have emphasized the importance of considering every proportion when examining the overall appearance of a round brilliant cut (RBC) diamond.  This is true whether we are creating computer models of light behavior, or trying to predict the visual appearance of an RBC diamond with certain proportions.  We believe that the traditional approach – considering only the table size, crown angles, and pavilion angles (or table size, crown height, and pavilion depth) – needs to be updated to include other proportions that can significantly alter the appearance of a diamond and the amount of light it will return.

In a series of articles on optics (Diamond Optics: Parts 1, 2, and 3) and the article on The Importance of Three-Dimensionality, we discussed the relationships between these proportion parameters and light return.  In this article we will show how changes in each of seven different parameters change the appearance of the diamond’s shape.  Although the effects of changes in the traditional proportion aspects are familiar to those who regularly work with diamonds, changes in the non-traditional proportion parameters (e.g., star facet length and lower-girdle facet length) produce some surprising results.  In addition, we have included an animation that demonstrates why the reliance on a particular total depth (here, 60%) might sometimes be misleading.

Click here  to view the article in its entirety.

GIA President William E. Boyajian received the American Gem Society’s (AGS) Triple Zero Award in a ceremony during the organization’s third annual AGS Circle of Distinction Dinner in New York July 30.

“I’m especially honored to receive an award of this magnitude from AGS because I’m proud of the way both GIA and AGS have worked toward achieving the goals of our mutual founder, Robert M. Shipley,” said Boyajian. “He envisioned that GIA and AGS would work to improve the professional knowledge and ethical practices of the jewelry industry. I think we’ve made great progress in achieving his vision, and I accept this award in that spirit.”

The Triple Zero Awards were created to recognize members of the jewelry industry for their accomplishments and contributions in their particular field of endeavor. Other recipients of this award during the ceremony were Ralph Destino, Executive Chairman of GIA’s Board of Governors and Chairman Emeritus of Cartier, Inc.; Richard Krementz, Jr., of Richard Krementz Gemstones; and Harold Tivol, of Tivol, Inc.

“I’m very grateful for this award and for being included not only with my fellow recipients here tonight, but also with those distinguished industry honorees of prior years,” said Destino.

GIA announced that Alice Keller, editor of GIA’s award-winning peer-review journal, Gems & Gemology, has been promoted to Editor-in-Chief. In making the announcement, GIA President William E. Boyajian praised Keller’s success in leading G&G, pointing out, “Back in the 1980s, Alice spearheaded a transition to take G&G to yet another level, one that now enjoys the acclaim of the industry and is the recognizable flagship publication of GIA.

Boyajian also noted that Richard T. Liddicoat, GIA’s Chairman, and chief editor of G&G since 1952, endorsed Keller as the person to succeed him at the helm of G&G. “Mr. Liddicoat’s recent passing ushers in a new reality and an appropriate passing of the baton,” said Boyajian. Mr. Liddicoat worked closely with Keller as she led G&G’s development into the world’s premier source of research on new sources of gem materials and critical identification challenges in gemology. With more than 8,000 readers in some 90 countries, G&G has also won several awards, including best scientific journal in America.

Keller said the promotion was especially meaningful to her. "After more than two decades of working with Richard Liddicoat, benefiting from his profound intellect and experience, I am humbled by the prospect of assuming the position he held for the last 50 years,” said Keller. Looking ahead, she added, “I recognize, though, that gemology is a dynamic field, and G&G must continue to meet the needs of its readers and the gemological community at large.”

A native of Evanston, Ill., Keller joined GIA in 1980 as managing editor of Gems & Gemology. She was promoted to Editor in 1984 and to Editor and Director in 1995. Not only did she introduce a larger format and more contemporary full-color design to the journal, but, most importantly, she recruited an Editorial Review Board of top experts in gemology and related fields to implement a rigorous peer-review process for all articles. This process, and the excellent articles that have resulted from the efforts of reviewers, editors, and authors alike, catapulted the journal to the leadership position it holds today.

Before joining GIA, Keller, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a master’s degree from Georgetown University, worked for eight years in professional publishing. Keller has written several articles for G&G and edited two books.  She was also co-chairperson of the Third International Gemological Symposium, held in San Diego in 1999.

“I feel fortunate to have this opportunity to work with such a talented staff and such superb contributors to promote research and the broad dissemination of information in our young science," Keller said.

Assuming Keller’s position as Editor will be Brendan Laurs, who has served as G&G’s Senior Editor for five years. A native of southern California, Laurs has a bachelor’s in geology from U.C. Santa Barbara and a master’s in geology from Oregon State University, as well as a Graduate Gemologist diploma from GIA. “Brendan has demonstrated the drive, dedication, and expertise necessary to maintain, and even expand on, the journal’s relevance and contribution to the field of gemology,” said Boyajian.

Also, Assistant Editor Stuart Overlin was promoted to Associate Editor. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Overlin has been with G&G since 1997. “Stuart’s editorial skills and commitment to the quality of G&G are indispensable,” said Keller.

How does the world economy affect prices of gold, silver and diamonds? Within the jewelry industry, what percentage of my net profits should be cost of goods sold? How can simple arithmetic tell me which direction my business is going? How do I quickly calculate the return on investment I need to make on my colored stones?

For the first time, an educational program tailored to the specific needs of current and future jewelry business owners and managers will teach them how to answer these questions and improve the financial health of their firms. It’s all part of the new Jewelry Finance diploma program, offered only at GIA’s Carlsbad, Calif. campus beginning Oct. 14. Enrollments are already underway.

According to GIA’s Dean of Business Ed Balian, owners and managers in the jewelry business will find the financial skills learned in this program critical to their success. “The jewelry business is unique. Although standard business principles also apply, there are certain financial aspects of the jewelry business that are unique to the industry. These three courses teach the ‘language of business’ using simple arithmetic and concepts – in other words, how to evaluate your success and monitor your progress in dollars and cents.”

The Jewelry Finance program joins the Jewelry Business Principles diploma program (formally Graduate Retail Management) as part of the curriculum of GIA’s recently established School of Business – the first school of its kind to teach management skills as they apply specifically to the jewelry industry. According to GA Vice President of Education Brook Ellis, GIA’s School of Business was developed in response to a growing need for students and trade professionals to learn how to succeed in the business of jewelry. Additional diploma programs in merchandising and business law are slated to begin in 2003, with others planned.

Ellis said the objective of GIA's new School of Business is to provide a solid business foundation to jewelry business owners, executives, and aspiring leaders working in the jewelry industry.

“The stock and trade of the jewelry industry may be diamonds and colored stones, but like any other business, it all comes down to dollars and cents,” added Balian. “Understanding the financial aspects of your business is key to profitability and longevity.”

In the Economics in the Jewelry Industry course, students will learn how national and international events affect the economy and, specifically, a jewelry business. The basic language of economics, its concepts, theories, and practical applications in the jewelry industry, and how to apply these principles directly to their business will also be taught.

The Managerial Accounting course – designed to teach even those with little to no accounting experience – covers how to organize, maintain, and analyze financial information. It also includes practice in "keeping the books," working with balance sheets, and using basic computer software to track accounts in a "test case" of a student’s own jewelry business.

“At the close of the accounting course, students will feel confident posting, reading, and analyzing key financial information,” said Balian.

The third course of the Jewelry Finance program, Applied Business Math, will teach students the fundamentals of business math, and how to apply these skills to their jewelry operation. Students will also learn how simple financial calculations can influence business decisions.

For more information about the Jewelry Finance diploma program and the GIA School of Business, call 800-421-7250, ext. 4001, or visit GIA's Web site.

The end of summer is nearing. With the busy fall season approaching, now is an ideal time to update your skills and product knowledge with GIA’s industry acclaimed Extension classes. Designed to help you develop the practical hands-on skills of a true gem and jewelry professional, GIA Extension classes are conveniently offered in a city near you. Look for classes being held in Memphis, Kansas City, Carlsbad, New York, Las Vegas and Sacramento.

In Carlsbad, Calif., headquarters to GIA, the Pearl Grading night class (Sept. 9-10) has a number of openings. Don’t forget about GIA’s Jewelry Manufacturing classes. Basic Repair & Setting Jewelry (Sept. 9-13) and Intermediate Repair &