the Scottish Gemmological association

DR. CLAUDIO C. MILISENDA

Director of DSEF German Gem Lab, Idar-Oberstein 

Dr. Claudio C. Milisenda has been with the German Gemmological Association (DGemG) and its  gemmological laboratory since 1993. In 1996, he became director of the DSEF German Gem Lab  (German Foundation for Gemstone Research), which was founded in1969.

Claudio has authored or coauthored articles on mineralogy, geology, geochemistry and gemmology  in many magazines and journals worldwide. He is a delegate of Germany at the World Jewellery  Confederation (CIBJO) and at the  International Gemmological Conference and is a member of  the Laboratory Manual  Harmonization Committee (LMHC).

For more than a decade  Claudio served as an instructor of the DGemG Gemmology Diploma   Courses and is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of the German Gemmological   Association. He conducted onsite research in Europe, Southern Africa and Southeast Asia and  received his Ph.D. in earth science from Max-Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz.

Fei Liu

Fei Liu, a celebrated fine jewellery designer, has garnered acclaim for his exquisite blend of contemporary and classical creations. Renowned for his stylish designs, Fei has earned international recognition with a clientele spanning the globe.

Always showing an interest in art, Fei enjoyed drawing and painting throughout his childhood. This interest quickly became a passion when, at the age of 11, he was introduced to Western art styles such as oil and acrylic painting. With a whole new creative language to learn and to inspire him, Fei soon realised that he wanted to pursue his passion for the arts as a career.

While visiting Hong Kong at the age of 19, Fei’s eyes were opened to the wealth of directions open to him in the world of art and design. In particular, he became transfixed by gemstones – by their value and the idea that no two stones were ever the same. Upon his return from Hong Kong, Fei’s mind was made up and his first steps in the jewellery industry decided.

Combining his love for gemstones and art, Fei chose to study for a degree at Birmingham’s prestigious School of Jewellery. After completing his BA in Jewellery and Silversmithing, he was equipped not only with the tools he needed to design jewellery but also with the ability to question, challenge and reinvent.

Fei Liu Fine Jewellery was launched in 2006. By combining his life and experiences in the West with his Chinese heritage, Fei designs pieces that are not only visually creative but that challenge preconceptions of luxury fine jewellery.

 Based in Birmingham's historic Jewellery Quarter, Fei Liu's illustrious career has been marked by prestigious accolades. In 2016, he was honoured with UK Jewellery Awards Designer of the Year. Notably, he secured three victories in the International Platinum Jewellery Design competition, receiving the Lonmin Innovation award in 2009 for his Aeon Earrings, in 2011 for the Kingfisher earrings, and again in 2011 for his captivating Allure ring. Further enhancing his reputation, Fei Liu was bestowed with The British High Piece for Platinum Guild in Basel in 2008 and clinched the 1st Prize of The British Goldsmith Craftsmanship Award.

Sona Tajiryan 

Sona Tajiryan, a postdoctoral research associate at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in Carlsbad, California, is a historian of  global trade and gem dealing in the 17th and 18th C.

She completed her PhD at the UCLA History Department in 2020 focusing on early modern world histories of New Julfan Armenian Merchants. Her dissertation, entitled The Early Modern Global Trade of Diamonds and Gems: An Armenian Family Firm on the Crossroads of Caravan and  Maritime Trade (ca. 1670-1730) analyzes the early modern global luxury trade of gems conducted  between  South Asia and European port cities during the 1670s and 1730s.

During her tenure at GIA, Dr. Tajiryan has delivered multiple talks and conference papers to the wider gemological and academic audiences in the US and elsewhere. Her research on the history of the pearl trade in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Mannar in theIndian Ocean has recently taken her  on three extensive trips to the Persian Gulf and India to meet the biggest natural pearl dealers and   explore their family histories.

Dr Dominic Mok

Dr. Dominic Mok, ​ DBA, MSc, FGA, FGAA, DGA, AGA (Expert) 

Founder & Principal of Asian  Gemmological Institute & Laboratory  Limited (AGIL)

Dominic Mok, the founder and current Principal of the Asian Gemmological Institute & Laboratory Limited (AGIL), brings with him an impressive 46 years of experience in the jewellery trade. As an  Accredited Gemmologist (Expert), he holds the distinction of being the first Gemmologist  accredited by the Hong Kong Accreditation Service of the Hong Kong SAR government, China.

Since 1983, Dr. Mok has been sharing his knowledge by teaching Gem-A's Gemmology Diploma (FGA) and subsequent Gem Diamond (DGA) courses, enabling his students to achieve  prestigious accolades such as Tully Medals, Bruton Medals, the Anderson Bank Prize, the Mok Diamond Practical Prize, and the Deeks Diamond Prize.

His expertise encompasses the testing of Fei Cui/Jadeite Jade, coloured gemstones, diamond grading,and the use of advanced, state-of-the-art instruments for gemstone examination.

Rui Galopim de Carvalho

Rui Galopim de Carvalho FGA DGA is an independent Gem Education Consultant, training expert and popular international lecturer on gemmology and on the history of gem materials, being also author of GEMPEDIA, A Comprehensive Glossary of Gemstones and Gemmology, just released earlier this year.

During his 30 year experience as a gemmologist Rui has studied important collections in both public and private museums, notably the Portuguese Crown Jewels. Founder of the popular Home Gemmology webinar series launched during the COVID-19 lockdown, Rui has a long history as a gemmology communicator, notably on social media where he is a popular figure. As an educator, he has developed training projects for luxury brands and for international bodies in the UK, Mozambique, Brazil and Portugal where he has been teaching jewellers, designers and valuers for decades.

He is associate editor of Gem-A’s Journal of Gemmology, Vice-President of the Coral Commission of The World Jewellery Confederation - CIBJO, member of the Communications Committee of ICA (International Colored Gemstone Association), ambassador for LAUREL - Portuguese Association of Excellence Brands (ECCIA member) and consultant for several private collections and trade organisations, being member of numerous gemmological and trade organisations.

David Fisher

Principal Scientist at the De Beers Group UK Research Centre

David Fisher is Principal Scientist at the De Beers Group Research Centre in the UK.  He started work there in 1992 after obtaining his PhD in Physics from the University of Liverpool.  Whilst with De Beers, he has contributed to a range of projects mostly concentrating on research into laboratory grown diamonds and treatments that impact on consumer confidence in natural diamond.  He led the Group’s programme of research into the detection of HPHT treated diamonds from its inception in the early 1990s and has been heavily involved in research programmes on HPHT and CVD synthetic diamonds. 

He has published widely on the physics of diamond and on the gemmological applications of this work.  He regularly presents the research group’s work at international conferences and has significant involvement in the development and promotion of De Beers’ Diamond Verification Instruments. 

Away from work, David enjoys getting old clocks working again and he and his wife ride a tandem and wonder why they didn’t get one sooner.

Dr. Dora Thornton

Dora Thornton is the Goldsmiths’ Company Curator in the City of London. Before that, she was Curator of Renaissance Europe and Curator of the Waddesdon Bequest at the British Museum [1990-2018]. She is an international authority on the making and meaning of Renaissance works of art, as well as their collecting history.

In 2012, she curated the British Museum exhibition for the London Olympics, Shakespeare: Staging the World, collaborating with Sir Jonathan Bate and the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2014 she curated an acclaimed new gallery for the British Museum of a stunning collection of Rothschild treasures, the Waddesdon Bequest, which was funded by the Rothschild Foundation.

Dr Thornton was a Scholar at St Hilda’s College, Oxford, where she took her MA in Modern History, followed by a PhD at the Warburg Institute in the University of London and an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

 Sarah Steele

Sarah Caldwell Steele is widely considered a world leading expert in black gemstone
identification. She is a Senior Accredited Gemmologist and was awarded Fellowship of the
Gemmological Association of Great Britain in 2013, and Diamond Fellowship in 2015.

Sarah holds a first degree in geology from the University of Durham and has recently returned to
Durham as a doctoral researcher in archaeology. Her multidisciplinary and multiperiod PhD
thesis focuses on the gemmological classification, identification and interpretation of black
artefacts within the archaeological record, focusing in particularly on the Jet Group.

Key to the work is her introduction of the term ‘gem-quality hydrocarbon’ to facilitate a more nuanced approach to jet nomenclature.

Charles Carmona

Native Californian Charles Carmona is a Graduate Gemologist (GG) of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) of the American Society of Appraisers. He followed his hobbies from a young age to become an expert in the fields of gemmology and numismatics. In the 1970s, he was importing colored gemstones from Asia and South America before establishing Guild Laboratories in 1980. In the last decade, he has expanded Guild into Asia with joint ventures in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China and Bangkok, Thailand.

Mr. Carmona's Complete Handbook for Gemstone Weight Estimation is an essential volume in every jewelry professional's library. It is an indispensable tool to help the user estimate weights by their measurements of all shapes and varieties of gemstones set in jewelry. In its 5th printing, it sells to gemmologists around the world.

Charles has been traveling the world for five decades in search of knowledge and experience to help in his gemstone testing and appraisal businesses in downtown Los Angeles, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, China and Bangkok, Thailand. As a consultant to the World Bank he has established gemmology schools in Madagascar and Tanzania. He has led tours through the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to gem mining areas on five continents.

Mark Dennis

Mark Dennis was raised with an ‘ex-pat’ consciousness in the Wine Country north of San Francisco.

He did his undergraduate and law degrees in California before meeting his wife when they both did post graduate degrees in England.  After 16 years in the Bay Area with Mark in practice
and his wife doing research in Biochemistry, she was recruited to St Andrews University, and there they still are, 30 years on. 

Mark requalified at the Scots Bar and has spent 20+ years now as a Tribunal Judge. 

Along the way, he was appointed an Officer of Arms in the Court of the Lord Lyon, one thing has led to another and now to talking to the SGA about his experiences with the Elizabeth Sword.

Pat Daly

Pat Daly FGA is a senior gemmology instructor at Gem-A and has been an independent valuer since 1984. He started his trade career with James Walker Ltd (a multiple retail jeweller), and took the N.A.G. and Gem-A courses during this time.

He began his gemmological studies under the tutelage of renowned gemmologist Basil Anderson. He then worked for David Harris Ltd (a manufacturer/second-hand jewellery dealer) in Hatton Garden,eventually joining Gem-A as a gemmology instructor in 1993.