The lapis-lazuli deposits at Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, have provided the raw material for objects fashioned of this stone since the earliest civilizations. The mine, which lies in the ...

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GIA offers many opportunities for students to receive a scholarship. Scholarship offerings are made available to assist eligible students in reducing their financial burden and focusing on completing ...

Get details on the latest research from the GIA research team, including: natural diamond geology and mining locations, causes of colors and optical features, laboratory-grown diamond research, ...

Feature Gems & Gemology, Fall 2014, Vol. 50, No. 3 Observations on Pearls Reportedly from the Pinnidae Family (Pen Pearls) Nicholas Sturman, Artitaya Homkrajae, Areeya Manustrong, and Nanthaporn Somsa ...

Synthetic moissanite is much closer to diamond in overall appearance and heft than any previous diamond imitation; this article reports on how to identify and characterize it.

This article presents information about the CVD process, the history of its development, and properties that differentiate the resulting synthetic crystals from natural diamond.

The distinction of natural from cultured pearls traditionally has been based on X-radiography. X-ray computed microtomography (μ-CT) has recently been applied to gain more insight into pearl ...

Pink CVD lab-grown products can be separated from natural and treated-color natural pink diamonds by a combination of gemological and spectroscopic properties, which are explored in this study.

The history of Baja California has been closely tied to the exploitation of pearls since the 16th century.

The island of Borneo is one of the oldest known —and least reported on—sources of diamonds. Although diamond mining historically was concentrated in the western area of what is now Kalimantan, recent ...

Eight decades after the Cullinan diamond was mined, a team of gemologists examined the two famous gems that were created from it to become part of the Crown Jewels of England.