Spring 2011

The votes are in, and we’re pleased to announce the winners of the 2010 Dr. Edward J. Gübelin Most Valuable Article Award, as voted by hundreds of G&G readers. We extend our thanks to all the subscribers who participated.

The article that took first place was “Gemstone Enhancement and Its Detection in the 2000s” (Fall 2010), which looked back at an eventful decade of new treatment processes and advances in identifying them. Placing second was “Synthetic Gem Materials in the 2000s: A Decade in Review” (Winter 2010), a retrospective of important developments in the synthetic gem industry. Third place went to “The Wittelsbach-Graff and Hope Diamonds: Not Cut from the Same Rough” (Summer 2010), which examined the two famous diamonds to see if they shared a common ancestry.

FIRST PLACE
Gemstone Enhancement and Its Detection in the 2000s
Shane F. McClure, Robert E. Kane, and Nicholas Sturman
Shane McClure is director of identification services at the GIA Laboratory in Carlsbad. With more than 30 years of experience in the field, he is well known for his many articles and lectures on gem identification. An accomplished gem photographer, he is also co-editor of the journal’s Lab Notes section. Robert Kane is president and CEO of Fine Gems Inter­national in Helena, Montana, and has been a member of the G&G Editorial Review Board since 1981. A former director of the Gübelin Gem Lab, Mr. Kane has written numerous articles and spoken frequently on diamonds, gemstones, and gem identification. Nicholas Sturman is supervisor of pearl identification at the GIA Laboratory in Bangkok. After obtaining his F.G.A. diploma, he worked as a gemologist at the Gem Testing Laboratory of Great Britain in London. He then spent 16 years studying pearls and working as an advisor for the government-run Gem & Pearl Testing Laboratory in Bahrain before joining GIA in 2008.

SECOND PLACE
Synthetic Gem Materials in the 2000s: A Decade in Review
Nathan Renfro, John I. Koivula, Wuyi Wang, and Gary Roskin
Nathan Renfro is a staff gemologist at the GIA Laboratory in Carlsbad. After completing his undergraduate geology studies at Appalachian State University, Mr. Renfro obtained a Graduate Gemologist diploma from GIA. Since joining the laboratory in 2008, he has contributed several articles and Lab Notes to G&G. John Koivula is chief gemologist at the GIA Laboratory in Carlsbad. A renowned expert on microscopy, photomicrography, and gem inclusions, he is author of MicroWorld of Diamonds, co-author of the three-volume Photoatlas of Inclusions in Gemstones, and co-author of Geologica. He holds bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and mineralogy-geology from Eastern Washington State University. Wuyi Wang is director of research and development at the GIA Laboratory in New York. He holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from Beijing University and a doctorate in geology from the University of Tsukuba. He has spent nearly 20 years studying diamond geochemistry and the treatment of diamonds and other gem materials. Gary Roskin is editor of the online magazine The Roskin Gem News Report. He was a GIA staff member from 1977 to 1992, serving as an instructor, laboratory supervisor, and alumni association executive director. From 1997 to 2009, he was the gemstone editor of JCK magazine.

THIRD PLACE
The Wittelsbach-Graff and Hope Diamonds: Not Cut from the Same Rough
Eloïse Gaillou, Wuyi Wang, Jeffrey E. Post, John M. King, James E. Butler, Alan T. Collins, and Thomas M. Moses
Eloïse Gaillou is a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History and at Carnegie Institution, both in Washington, DC. She obtained her PhD in France in 2006, working on geologic and physical aspects of opals. Her current research focuses on defects in natural diamonds and their influence on physical properties. Wuyi Wang was profiled in the second-place entry. Jeffrey Post is curator of the U.S. National Gem and Mineral Collection at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. He holds bachelor’s degrees in geology and chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and a PhD in chemistry from Arizona State University. Dr. Post has published numerous articles on mineralogy, gemology, geochemistry, and crystallography. John King is chief quality officer of the GIA Laboratory in New York and the editor of Gems & Gemology in Review: Colored Diamonds. A noted artist, Mr. King received his master’s degree from Hunter College, City University of New York. One of his research areas has been the characterization and color description of colored diamonds. James Butler is a consultant in Huntingtown, Maryland, retired from the Naval Research Laboratory. Dr. Butler has published more than 190 papers on experimental chemical physics. He received a bachelor’s degree from MIT and a PhD from the University of Chicago, both in chemical physics. Alan Collins is emeritus professor of physics at King’s College London. He has carried out extensive research on the optical and electronic properties of diamond, much of which has relevance to gemology. He holds PhD and DSc degrees from the University of London. Thomas Moses is senior vice president of the GIA Laboratory and Research, New York.

Congratulations also to Julie H. Bennett of Friendswood, Texas, whose ballot was drawn from the many entries to win a two-year print and online subscription to G&G, plus a flash drive containing the 2001–2010 back issues of the journal.