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Sapphire History and Lore

Traditionally, sapphire symbolises nobility, truth, sincerity and faithfulness.

Figure 9. The parcel of rough spinel on the left, reportedly from Tajikistan, contains pieces weighing up to 48.5 g. The seven faceted spinels on the right (9.04–28.16 ct) were fashioned from some of this rough.

Purplish Pink Spinel from Tajikistan: Before and After Cutting

Nicholas Sturman, March 1, 2009

Purplish Pink Spinel from Tajikistan: Before and After Cutting

Combine emeralds and gold with the sophisticated design of Cartier and voilà − earrings of timeless beauty. Courtesy of a private collector. Photo by Tino Hammid/Copyright GIA and Tino Hammid

Article

Leaf Motifs: Timeless Beauty for All Seasons of Jewellery

Sharon Bohannon, June 17, 2016

The humble leaf has captivated jewellery designers for centuries and they’ve transformed it into enduring pieces of beautiful jewellery.

Three smaller cameos show the progression of craving a cameo from rough shell. They sit in sand alongside a shell with a fully carved cameo on it.

Article

Cameos: Timeless, Miniature Carvings for Jewellery Lovers

Sharon Bohannon, June 23, 2017

The rich history and lore of cameos make them a fascinating avenue into the world of collecting for history, mythology and jewellery buffs.

Article

The Lure of American Freshwater Pearls: Revisiting the Latendresse Family

Tao Hsu, Chunhui Zhou, Artitaya Homkrajae, Joyce Wing Yan Ho, Emiko Yazawa and Pedro Padua, May 18, 2017

John Latendresse is known as the father of American cultured pearls. He was also a great natural pearl collector and left his family a remarkable natural pearl collection. The Latendresse family is well recognised in the American pearl industry and has long supported GIA pearl research. Come with us to revisit this family and their pearl collection.

Large open mussel shell with pink interior

Article

Freshwater Pearling in Tennessee

Tao Hsu, Chunhui Zhou, Artitaya Homkrajae, Joyce Wing Yan Ho, Emiko Yazawa and Pedro Padua, October 7, 2016

Natural pearl identification is one of the critical problems in pearl research. The DNA study of pearly molluscs and oysters facilitates the solving of this problem. To fulfil this goal, GIA sent a group from both Research and Education to Tennessee to sample the freshwater molluscs for DNA bar-coding. Come with us to Camden, Tennessee, to see how we dive for pearly shells.

Article

Queensland Opal Fields: Home of the Unique Australian Boulder Opal

Tao Hsu, Andrew Lucas and Vincent Pardieu, January 24, 2017

Boulder opal is becoming more and more popular. Australia’s central Queensland is home to more than a dozen of sources of this stone. Come with GIA field gemmologists to find out more about this unique gem.

The Wittelsbach Blue

Rudolf Dröschel, Jürgen Evers, and Hans Ottomeyer, December 1, 2008

This article describes what is known about the Wittelsbach Blue since it was first reported in 1666, and the gemmological information released to date on this diamond.

Green nephrite man’s ring on a beaded chain

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The Nephrite Jade Road: Evolution of the Green Nephrite Market

Tao Hsu

Along with the skyrocketing price of white nephrite, there is also a developing market for green nephrite in China. However, limited local supply has forced the Chinese to seek outside resources, opening the door to imports of green nephrite mined in British Columbia, Canada, and Siberia, Russia. This has created the well-developed and well-maintained nephrite jade road that connects the three countries, and which is described in this article.

Article

Good Luck Charms

March 11, 2016

Gems and jewellery are often used as good luck charms because they can evoke power and positivity. Check out these lucky charms used around the world.