Summer 2009

Gems & Gemology: The First 75 Years

I read with interest and more than a little nostalgia the lead article in this issue by Stuart Overlin and Dona Dirlam, which reviews Gems & Gemology’s first 75 years. As this manuscript wended its way through the review and revision process, it evolved into, in the words of British reviewer Alan Jobbins, “a history of the development of modern gemology.”

Yet the journal is more than just words and pictures on paper. Behind every article, lab note, or gem news update is a great deal of hard work and often personal sacrifice. There is also a book’s worth of anecdotes. Although I cannot speak for the full 75 years, I have been part of G&G for more than a third of that period, since 1980.

I already knew Dick Liddicoat and had a great deal of respect for his work as head of GIA and G&G when I first agreed to refurbish the journal. My respect only grew as we worked together to implement the journal’s editorial philosophy: to promote the science of gemology for the protection of the jeweler, the gem dealer, and the public. When an author insisted on less stringent editing and less accountability, Mr. Liddicoat always reminded me that our first obligation was to the reader, and to the reader we had to be true. On one occasion, a disgruntled would-be author said what others have probably thought: that what I really needed was “a good punch in the nose.” Mr. Liddicoat promptly called him, demanded an apology, and then banned him from having any further contact with me. I could not have asked for a better defender.

Actually, there are hundreds of authors who have been terrific to work with, who have shelved their personal and professional lives to deliver a solid article on an important topic. Keith Proctor moved to Santa Monica for weeks at a time to write his pegmatites of Minas Gerais series in the mid-1980s. And more than once we faxed page proofs across the Atlantic to Dr. Karl Schmetzer on Christmas Eve, so he could work on the article after his family had finished celebrating the holiday. Dona Dirlam wrote part of her 1992 “Gem Wealth of Tanzania” article sitting at my backyard patio table, while Bob Kammerling routinely spent evenings treating emeralds in his kitchen as he wrote and revised and then revised some more.

But perhaps my favorite author—yes, I do have a favorite—was Dr. Edward Gübelin. When I took over as managing editor in 1981, he found the new peer-review process far more demanding than any he had encountered previously. At one point, during a visit from a GIA colleague, he said he didn’t think he could go through it again. Two hours later, though, as his guest was preparing to leave, Dr. Gübelin handed him a paper, asking: “Do you think Mrs. Keller would like this one?” To this day, I treasure the exquisite letters he sent and will always be grateful for his decision to endow the Dr. Edward J. Gübelin Most Valuable Article Award in perpetuity.

Equally important have been the members of the editorial review board. A few years ago, I received a letter from Dr. Connie Hurlbut, an original member of the board established in 1981. He had just closed his office at Harvard and no longer had access to his library. Perhaps he should resign from G&G, he suggested. He was, after all, turning 98 that year. Yet he was as sharp at 98 as when I first met him two decades earlier—and he continued to participate as a reviewer until his death just shy of his 100th birthday.

Some reviewers have read manuscripts while in the field in Madagascar, Myanmar, and China. Others have done so from a hospital bed, or after a long day in the classroom or the laboratory. Some make a few key comments, while others—such as the legendary John Sinkankas—are willing to rewrite an entire paper to make it tighter, more accurate, and easier to read.

Many have also contributed to the “look” of the journal, in their efforts to get the right gem materials, line illustrations, or locality shots. For example, to create the Winter 1994 cover, John King and Tom Moses borrowed more than $17 million (at the time) in colored diamonds from several dealers and assembled the collection in a small room at GIA’s New York Laboratory. Harold and Erica Van Pelt photographed the stones in a single session, expertly capturing their colors.

But these are only a few of the men and women who have contributed to G&G over the years. Others diligently prepared Lab Notes or Gem News International entries, or kindly provided samples for us to study and report on. Still others waded through the gemological literature to deliver the book reviews and abstracts that have kept our readers up to date, or provided photos that captured the essence of a new gem material, internal feature, or locality.

We at Gems & Gemology are proud to be part of this international effort to promote the science of gemology through reliable, well-vetted research. We are grateful to our contributors, grateful for the support we have had from GIA all these years, and grateful to you—our readers—for sharing our passion for gemology.

Alice S. Keller
Editor-in-Chief