In the Spotlight Gems & Gemology, Summer 2025, Vol. 61, No. 2

Temples and Treasures of Southern Asia: A GIA Museum Exhibit

Terri Ottaway, Rachelle Turnier, and Erin Hogarth

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Sanctuary of Splendor. Temples and Treasures of Southern Asia invites visitors into GIA’s peaceful Rotunda “temple.” Accompanied by the sounds of singing bowls and sitar, the exhibit allows one to pause and appreciate the riches of more than 200 fine specimens from the region.
 
Sanctuary of Splendor. Temples and Treasures of Southern Asia invites visitors into GIA’s peaceful Rotunda “temple.” Accompanied by the sounds of singing bowls and sitar, the exhibit allows one to pause and appreciate the riches of more than 200 fine specimens from the region.

Gems are universally admired for their exquisite beauty and alluring interaction with light. For geologists searching for clues about Earth’s processes, gems are scientific treasures as much as visual ones. Rubies and sapphires are evidence of enormous heat and pressure deep underground; aquamarines are products of continental (tectonic) collisions. Inclusions in billion-year-old diamonds offer rare glimpses into Earth’s inaccessible mantle.

GIA’s museum team recently explored another dimension of gem appreciation: the bridges between human beings and higher powers. This exhibit in the Rotunda gallery at GIA in Carlsbad, California, showcases the extraordinary crystals and gems central to the cultures of southern Asia. In this region, gems symbolize connections to celestial bodies and the divine. As sacred talismans, they are seen to provide protection and wield powerful influence in every aspect of life.

Thus, when we admire a gem, we partake in a tradition almost as old as humanity. A single stone can embody beauty, wealth, Earth’s history, and spiritual meaning all at once. This layering of significance gives gems their enduring power—and explains why, from ancient temples to modern museums, they continue to captivate us.

The following pages highlight some of the displays and items in the exhibit, which will be at GIA headquarters in Carlsbad until May 2026. All photos by Emily Lane. Exhibit case design by McKenzie Santimer, MCKmetal; exhibit graphics by Tom Kwolik, Ikon Ideas, Inc.

Valley of the Rubies. The world’s most renowned and legendary source of rubies is the remote, mystical valley of Mogok in Myanmar. Rubies have been mined from the white marble host rock for centuries. This same ruby-bearing marble extends into Vietnam. Rubies courtesy of the Larson family.
Temples and Treasures Exhibit

Terri Ottaway is curator of collections, Rachelle Turnier is museum manager, and Erin Hogarth is senior writer and editor in Learning Design and Development and assistant editor for Gems & Gemology, at GIA in Carlsbad, California.

Several lenders generously contributed gems, crystals, jewelry, and artifacts that made this exhibit possible. GIA sincerely thanks the Larson family, the Somewhere in the Rainbow collection, the Department of Mineral Sciences at the National Museum of Natural History, the Bindra family of B&B Fine Gems, and a private collector. We also appreciate donors who contributed pieces to the GIA Museum collection that were used in this exhibit: the Greenfield family, Mark Patterson, Sophie Leu, and Laura Ramsey (in memory of John Ramsey).