WORKSHOPS and talks
Sunday afternoon
We are always very lucky with the range of Sunday afternoon presenters we have, and this year is no exception.
Our Sunday afternoon workshops and talks are always popular and places are limited for some of them, so we always recommend that you choose and book your options as soon as possible.
When you complete the Workshop Booking Form (which will come with your Invoice), please indicate at least a first and second choice. If it is not possible to fit you in to your initial choices, we will get in touch.
Claudio Milisenda - An in-depth look at Paraiba Tourmaline
Tourmaline surpasses all other gemstones by its wide range of colours. The group includes a number of complex boron- aluminium silicate minerals with structures that allow the incorporation of almost any chemical element.The large range of chemical variation leads to a number of different tourmaline minerals such as elbaite, by far the most common gem tourmaline, liddicoatite, dravite and schorl.
At the end of the 1980s, unusual vivid blue and green elbaite tourmalines from the Paraíba State in northeastern Brazil generated major interest in the gem trade due to the discovery of new colours that had never been seen before in this gemstone species. Connoisseurs of fine jewels were fascinated and enthusiastic about these colours described as “neon” or “electric”.
It was the first time that the trace element copper together with variable amounts of manganese was reported as a colouring agent in this species of gemstone. To separate these unique tourmalines from all other gem tourmalines they were commonly referred to as “Paraíba tourmaline”. In just a few decades, they have developed to one of the most sought-after gems in the world.
At the turn of the millennium, copper and manganese bearing tourmalines from the Oyo State in Nigeria came into the market. Today most copper bearing tourmalines offered on the market come from alluvial deposits in the east part of the Alto Ligonha pegmatite area in northeastern Mozambique.
This presentation will focus on the geology, compositional characteristics, nomenclature, enhancement, origin determination and imitations of Paraiba tourmaline.
Fei Liu - Creativity to Commercial Triumph
Fei Liu, a jewellery designer and founder of Fei Liu Fine Jewellery, is known for his vibrant and stylish creations that seamlessly blend contemporary and classical elements. His work has earned international recognition with a cherished private clientele. Along his journey in the world of jewellery, Fei's pieces have received numerous awards at prestigious events, reflecting the impact of his artistry.
Join Fei as he shares his insights on the alchemy of design in the context of jewellery. In his talk, Fei will unveil the secrets of translating creative brilliance into a thriving business, exploring the delicate dance between artistic expression and commercial success.
From the drawing board to the jewellery collector, Fei shares his perspective on the creative process that transforms raw inspiration into coveted pieces of jewellery. Whether you're a fellow designer, a jewellery enthusiast, or a business-minded individual, Fei's perspective will leave you inspired and equipped with a fresh understanding of how to monetise creativity in the world of luxury.
Sona Tajiryan - Robbery, Safety, and Insurance: Three Case Studies on Early Modern Gem Dealing and Transportation across Continents
How did gem dealers travel and transport valuable gems across thousands of miles from mines and Asian bazaars to the bustling European markets of the early modern period (c.1500 - 1800) in the face of dangerous roads, pirates, customs officials, and robbery?
Gems have traditionally been one of the most lucrative global commodities. As luxury goods, gems were bought mainly by those who could afford to acquire them.
Today, gems have a much wider social access, and the interest in their history and lore is greater than ever before.
Despite the existence of modern legal tools and much safer transportation, the challenges of moving gems are still very much prevalent in the industry.
In this workshop, Dr. Tajiryan will explore three different case studies from the 1680’s, involving organized robberies of diamonds, as well as the utilization of various commercial tools including insurance, in transporting gems safely overseas. For one of these case studies the audience will have the opportunity of a hands-on experience reading and interpreting a 17th. century business document written in an an obscure mercantile dialect to reconstruct a historical gem dealing transaction.
Dominic Mok - Contemporary Fei Cui Testing and Appreciation Workshop
Hong Kong is globally renowned as both the Pearl of the Orient and a revered hub for gemstones. Here, we have the privilege of encountering a wide array of captivating gemstones and being enchanted by their astonishing charms, particularly the imperial Fei Cui or Jadeite Jade.
This presentation will delve into the world of gemmology studies, showcasing the latest conventional and advanced identification techniques. Notably, exquisite examples of Fei Cui will be used to illustrate a commercial valuation system.
During this intensive appreciation workshop, Dr. Dominic Mok will provide samples of various types of Fei Cui for testing, including Type A, B, C Fei Cui, Colourchange lavender Fei Cui, Omphacite, Kosmochlor, as well as synthetic Jadeite. Furthermore, he will share his developed Fei Cui smart grading system called "3C + TIPS."
Join us on this remarkable gemmological journey led by Dr. Mok as we uncover the mystique of these fascinating gifts bestowed upon us by nature, guided by his wealth of experience.
Rui Galopim de Carvalho - Challenges of Gem Identification in Decorative Art Museums
Gemmology students basically learn how to identify loose gemstones. Gemstones set in a piece of jewellery or objet d’art present limitations in terms of the information that can be collected from the material. If that setting is in the context of a collection of high historic relevance, the limitations might be even more strict, not only because of the cultural or symbolic value of the object, but also because conservation issues must be considered.
In this workshop, Rui will share some of the stories behind the gem identification challenges he has come across, mainly with examples in his study of the Portuguese Crown Jewels.
David Fisher - Everything you ever wanted to know about diamond spectroscopy but were afraid to ask
The understanding of the spectroscopic properties of diamond required of the gemmologist has expanded enormously over the past 30 years due in part to the emergence of laboratory grown diamonds and the commercial application of treatments whose detection forces us to use more sensitive techniques than ever before. Delving into the scientific literature on the spectroscopy of diamond is now a daunting task even for those who have been working in the field for many years.
In this session we will start with some of the foundations laid out in the conference talk “Colour and Luminescence in Diamond” and look in a little more detail at some of the key features used in identification and how their measurement is incorporated into some of the instruments that are commercially available to assist in this task.
Bring an inquisitive mind and any questions you have and together we’ll delve into the fascinating world of the spectroscopy of diamond and what this can tell us about how a diamond was formed and its subsequent history.
Sarah Steele - Gemmology in the dark!
Acknowledged to be one of the most challenging areas of 21th century gemmology, black stone identification is problematic to even the most competent of gemmologists. Without the benefit of transmitted light through the stones, we are after all, attempting to practice gemmology in the dark!
The problem is exacerbated further however, when we encounter Britain’s most iconic gem material -Whitby jet. With no scientific consensus as to what jet is, and the recent
confusing terminologies issued by CIBJO in relation to organic and biogenic materials, it is
perhaps unsurprising that gemmologists struggle to identify true jet from the huge variety of
Victorian materials employed as simulants of Whitby jet during the C19th.
This workshop will discuss the reasons why current gem testing methods fail us when encountering black materials and allow participants to familiarise themselves with the methods employed by black stone lapidaries to easily distinguish between gem species.
Charles Carmona - Gemstone Weight Estimation
Accurately estimating the weights of mounted gemstones is one of the most consequential tasks in the work of a jewellery buyer, seller or valuer.
In this workshop, Charles Carmona, GG, ASA, author of The Complete Handbook for Gemstone Weight Estimation, first published in 1998, will present a series of computer animations to help visualize the considerations in making those important estimation decisions.
The 10-second sequences will show the increases and decreases in volume of many common gem shapes as their length-to-width ratios, and crowns, pavilions and girdles change. These changes affect the formulas used in the calculations.
His newest research in estimating the weights of novelty shapes will also be discussed.
Mark Dennis - A Sword Called Elizabeth
Mark is honoured to be asked to share with the SGA something of the history of the Scottish Swords of State and, most significantly, the design and creation of a new Sword in time for the Honours Ceremony at St Giles, Edinburgh, on 5 July last year.
It did not make a sudden appearance but had been a project maturing over nearly 25 years. It, she, is the first new Sword to serve the Kingdom of Scots in almost 500 years, and she is a triumph of the Nation.
Pat Daly - Gem-A Workshops on Screeening Coloured Stones
Diamonds are routinely screened nowadays, to separate possible synthetic and HPHT-treated stones from natural ones, and to refer them for further testing. in this process we do not expect always to identify the referred stones, but we set them aside for further testing or for laboratory identification.
The same logic can be applied to coloured stones. We cannot make positive identifications of all the stones which come our way but we can put aside those which we are unable to accept as untreated natural stones without further testing.
Examples of common species are considered in the workshop, and parcels of some well-known gem varieties and their simulants are made available to illustrate the methods used.
2024 Excursions
MONDAY, 6th MAY
With regards to our field trips, our intention is to run two options on Conference Monday. These can be booked together with your Sunday afternoon workshop options when you are paying your Conference invoices which will start to be sent out in late February.
The Monday options are as follows:
Firstly, a trip up into Perthshire to collect Smoky Quartz on Ben Lawers. Although Ben Lawers is classed as a ‘Munro’, this collecting site has quite easy access (about a ten minute walk in from car park) and to get there from The Westerwood, you will pass through some lovely Scottish scenery. The last time we ran this trip was about ten years ago and it was very successful, however, if poor weather should put you off going up to the collecting site, delegates could be dropped off in Killin for 2 - 3 hours.
As this site is some distance from the hotel, we do not anticipate returning to the hotel until around 3.30 - 4.00pm. Return transport and any lunch arrangements will be organised once we have the participants names.
The Second Option we are looking at is a visit to Edinburgh Castle. The actual organisation of this trip will depend on numbers, however, as a guideline we would be leaving the hotel around 9.30am. and expect to be at the Castle at least until the firing of the 1.00pm. gun.
Apart from the Castle itself and all the history around it, the Honours of Scotland can be viewed. These consist of the Crown of Scotland, Sceptre and Sword of State, which are amongst the oldest crown jewels in Europe, together with the new ceremonial Elizabeth Sword which is one of our Sunday afternoon workshop topics.
Transport and any lunch arrangements will be organised once we have the participants names, however, from the Castle, a walk of about 15-20 minutes will take you to the tram line out to the airport or to the main bus station. Slightly closer is Waverley railway station. We hope to arrange some luggage storage (in a car) on the Castle Esplanade.
As an alternative for anyone flying from Glasgow Airport early to mid afternoon, we could recommend a visit to the Burrell Collection in Glasgow's Pollok Park - not gemmological, but very interesting! Entry to the Collection is free and it is a wonderful, rather eclectic collection, in a striking building with a good cafe attached. The Park is very pleasant for a wander and there is a free shuttle bus service around it connecting the main entrance, the Burrell Collection and the nearby Pollok House. A bit further afield is also The House for an Art Lover. Links as below. The Reception Desk at the Burrell will look after luggage if asked.
We will (probably) leave it to any delegates interested to make their own way but please advise if you want help to organise travel. A taxi from the Hotel to the Collection will take about 30 minutes and a taxi from the Collection to Glasgow Airport will take about 20 minutes, given reasonable road conditions.
For travel links into Glasgow: https://burrellcollection.com/visit/plan-your-visit/
https://burrellcollection.com/collection-highlights/
https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/pollok-house
https://www.houseforanartlover.co.uk/about/what-is-house-for-an-art-lover