This content was first published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review no. 3 in 2018. The information provided here is therefore current as of the original publication date.
The readers of the Review seem to acknowledge its purpose of serving the industry and engaging in dialogue with a wide audience. Those who are committed in writing or editing the contents intend to help driving this public (as a whole, regardless of its skills level) to the gateway of the hottest gemological topics, either basic or more subtle ones. In this issue we’ll deal with forensic gemology, asterism, innovative cutting styles, a catalog of minerals available on Italian soil, the role of ruby auctions in the new raw material supply system, a guided tour to the use of photoluminescence and a guide to the preliminary steps for the study of inclusions.
At a resolute pace, the magazine is plunging into the middle of research, education, information and updating on equipment. It’s a young voice, among the so many more authoritative ones, reflecting the wide, fluid, magmatic, multidisciplinary, ever-changing subjects of gemology. As far as new themes are concerned, it can be said that we are entering unexplored frontiers, such as for example the legal implications determined by the use of gemological terms and the “ethical tracking” of provenance by Gübelin. In this research fields new interesting developments are shortly expected.
But it’s also worth spending a few words on the actual people involved in the matter. Who are our readers? We must acknowledge that they include not only the elites engaged in advanced research, collectors, laboratory staff, but also a wider category of differently skilled people dealing with gemstones and ranging in a quite broad area.
This area includes jewelry manufacturers and designers, gemstone dealers and other categories in search of informations enabling them to update their expertise. Along with true and expert professionals possessing a long lab experience, the list of people interested in gemology consists of buyers and collectors of jewels, stones and minerals as well as readers simply curious to enter such a unique and fascinating universe.
The daily experience of gemstone business proves that too much is taken for granted. It’s not true that the basic concepts have been assimilated and so we are still impressed with the fact that many reputed traders are convinced that the identification of synthetic diamonds is a lost battle. We wonder at the embarrassment of experienced jewelers as they awkwardly explain to their customers what a diffused Sapphire is all about. All right, we are seduced by the ultimate development of the most advanced research. Yet we should be upset too, while noticing the deadlock of gemological literacy rate. The jewelry and gemstone trade should accept the new challenge and make the basics available to all, while in the meantime the elite squads qualify as the cutting edge of research.
By Paolo Minieri, published on Rivista Italiana di Gemmologia – Italian Gemological Review #3, January 2018.
