In addition to setting standards for determining gem quality and conducting front-line research, GIA protects the gem-buying public by educating gem and jewelry professionals. In fact, GIA was founded more than 80 years ago as an educational institution to help jewelers accurately and ethically communicate gem information to the public.

As you shop for diamonds or gemstones, you may notice that many jewelers proudly display their diplomas and credentials from GIA. Here are descriptions of a few of those internationally recognized credentials and what they mean for you.

• GIA Graduate Gemologist (GG) Diploma:
  This is the highest professional credential conferred by GIA. In this respected and world-recognized program, students acquire a comprehensive gemology education across the entire spectrum of diamonds and colored stones. Through extensive practice, they learn how to identify and grade hundreds of common and unusual gemstones and detect the latest treatments and synthetics. They study gemstones from mines to market, and practice their gemological techniques using instruments such as a microscope, polariscope, spectroscope, and other professional gemological equipment. GG diploma recipients achieve the technical knowledge and practical skills necessary for careers as buyers, appraisers, retailers, or senior professionals within the jewelry industry. A GG credential ensures that a highly trained jeweler is present to assist you.

• GIA Graduate Diamonds Diploma:
  Graduates from this program have learned the technical expertise needed to grade, buy, and sell diamonds. Students analyze crown, pavilion, and total depth. They learn GIA diamond grading processes to access the 4Cs, and how the 4Cs affect value. They practice using professional diamond grading equipment, and also learn to determine proportions, create plotting diagrams, and detect synthetics and treatments.

• GIA Graduate Colored Stones Diploma:
  This program offers a wide array of opportunities to build a knowledge base about colored stones and the colored stones market and identify common and unusual gemstones. Students will use GIA’s Colored Stone Grading System to grade color and clarity; identify synthetics, treatments, and imitations using professional gemological equipment; identify a gemstone’s geographic origin; understand how quality, rarity, and color affect value; determine market factors that impact gem value; and much more.

• GIA Accredited Jewelry Professional (AJP) Diploma:
  Graduates from this program learn tremendous product knowledge to help their customers make the most informed purchases possible. Graduates know how to explain the 4Cs of diamond value, and the differences between treated, synthetic and imitation stones to ensure full disclosure. They also know a lot about the lore and attributes of the most popular gemstones, which makes their knowledge indispensable when you’re making a purchasing decision.

• GIA Graduate Pearls Diploma:
  GIA’s Graduate Pearls diploma program teaches students about GIA’s 7 Pearl Value Factors™, which helps them evaluate, buy, and sell pearls. After graduation, students can effectively communicate the relationship of beauty, benefits, value and quality to pearl-loving customers. Graduates know how to distinguish the differences in pearls, including cultured pearls, aiding consumers in finding exactly which pearl they’re looking for.

• GIA Jewelry Design & Technology (JDT) Diploma:
  Ready to learn cutting-edge jewelry design in a cutting-edge environment? That’s what you’ll experience in the GIA Jewelry Design & Technology program. You’ll learn CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing), rapid prototyping, and other technologies and innovations that are revolutionizing the gem and jewelry industry. In addition, understand common manufacturing processes; learn important jewelry engineering concepts; troubleshoot problems arising from the design and manufacture of pieces; and more. At the conclusion of the program, you will have a portfolio of your jewelry design renderings and rapid prototypes. (Offered at GIA Carlsbad Campus)

• GIA Graduate Jeweler (GJ) Diploma:
  If you’re looking to have a custom piece of jewelry made, or need to repair a long-worn favorite, look for a jeweler with a GIA Graduate Jeweler diploma.  This program teaches students how to transform precious metals and gemstones into beautiful pieces of jewelry. Students are trained at a workbench, just as professional jewelers work, learning skills such as sizing, soldering, finishing and polishing. Students are introduced to the latest technologies, like laser welding with pulse profiling, and acquire the time-honored skills of hand fabrication, custom order and jewelry repair. (Offered at GIA Carlsbad Campus)

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When considering the purchase of a gem or piece of jewelry, it is important to find an educated jeweler with a trustworthy reputation. A professional jeweler will have the knowledge and training to help you make an informed purchase. A jeweler with a reliable reputation will strive to understand your preferences,  provide you with a variety of purchase options, and do so in an honest and straightforward way.

There are a few good ways to find a professional jeweler.

First, look for a jeweler with impeccable credentials from an international gemological school, like GIA. A GIA Graduate Gemologist (GG) credential is known world-wide as the mark of a senior professional in the jewelry industry. In the Graduate Gemologist program, jewelers learn the science and technical knowledge needed to deal with the entire range of diamonds and colored gemstones. Another diploma, the GIA Accredited Jewelry Professional (AJP), provides sales associates with the important product knowledge they need in order to provide customers with accurate diamond information. Jewelers with either of these credentials will be able to provide excellent and knowledgeable service. You can find a list of professional jewelers who have gone through GIA training on the GIA Alumni Association online directory.

Another way is to find a credentialed jeweler, with a strong positive reputation in your community. Ask a friend to recommend a jeweler or ask a jeweler to provide references. Find out how long the jeweler has been in business, if she/he belongs to any professional associations, and if they are a member of the GIA Alumni Association.

GIA Diamond Grading Report

Once you have selected your gem or piece of jewelry, it is a good idea to get an independent laboratory report on your stone. Professional jewelers around the world provide an independent diamond grading report with their fine diamonds. World-wide, the most trusted and accurate diamond reports come from GIA, the creator of the 4Cs diamond grading standard.

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Gemstones are rare and highly-coveted; this can sometimes result in theft and other crimes. More than $1.5 billion-worth of jewelry and precious metals were stolen in the US in 2010, with a recovery rate of only 4.2%. In order to better serve the public, law enforcement turned to GIA for assistance. GIA developed a seminar to better train them in successfully identifying stolen gems and jewelry.

GIA’s Carlsbad headquarters

One such seminar occurred at GIA’s Carlsbad headquarters earlier this year. Law enforcement officers from Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and South Africa, along with US officers representing 13 cities, met at GIA for the seminar. The course included learning about the GIA-created 4Cs of diamond quality, using tools such as loupes and microscopes, identifying colored gemstones in the field, breaking down stolen jewelry, and more.

The goals of the seminar were, first, to teach practical gemology for use in investigations and second, to educate law enforcement on the GIA resources that are available to them. For example, if a stolen gem was previously graded by GIA, it can be flagged in GIA’s database. The seminar also encouraged international cooperation as officers from across the globe shared their knowledge in topics such as gem mining and consumerism.

GIA has supported and educated law enforcement for decades. The current intensive program began as a partnership between GIA and the Major Theft Program at FBI Headquarters in 2007. The partnership between law enforcement and GIA has been rewarding and appropriate because both groups are dedicated to public service. “Our mission is to protect the public in gemstone and jewelry purchases,” said Donna Baker, president and CEO of GIA. “We’re pleased to have built a strong working relationship with law enforcement agencies around the world. By working together, we can help reduce gem-related crimes.”

This partnership may be helping the world with more than just gem-related crimes. FBI Agent Eric Ives, who manages the organized crime and major theft programs, states, “Jewelry theft is often a gateway crime. The illicit proceeds from the trafficking of stolen jewelry are sometimes used to fund other criminal activities.”

To learn more about GIA, visit www.gia.edu

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All of the peer-reviewed research on diamonds, colored stones and pearls presented in Gems & Gemology (G&G), the leading journal in its field, is now available, for free, on the iPad. The new G&G app complements GIA’s (Gemological Institute of America) award-winning quarterly journal with enhanced digital content and is downloadable for free on iTunes.

The launch of this digital version makes G&G’s research accessible to a broader audience and more appealing to scientists eager to publish their own research findings. In addition to the latest gemological information, the app is enriched with exclusive content including gem-related videos and interviews with industry experts.

“Research on peer-reviewed journals shows that those available electronically have the potential to significantly increase their impact,” said Donna Baker, president and CEO of GIA. “By reaching a broader readership, we can have a greater influence on the field of gemology.”

Gems & Gemology Spring 2012

The Spring 2012 issue is the first G&G available on the app and features articles and digital content on a recently discovered emerald deposit in northern Brazil and a review of properties and durability of a recent diamond imitation, coated colorless cubic zirconia. It also includes coverage of this year’s Tucson shows and the results of the Dr. Edward J. Gübelin Most Valuable Article Awards, as well as the G&G Challenge quiz which gives readers a chance to test their gemological knowledge.

“The interactive and intuitive nature of this app, combined with its portability, makes keeping up with gemology fun and easy,” said Jan Iverson, editor-in-chief of G&G. “The print issue will remain, so the iPad app is really an extension of our educational outreach.”

G&G will continue to offer a print edition; subscriptions are now available. A free desktop version is planned for release later this year.

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Whether your goal is to be a buyer, a bench jeweler, a sales professional, a jewelry business executive, a store owner, or define your own career, GIA has a diploma program that can help you achieve your goals.

Learn about starting a career in gems and jewelry here: http://www.gia.edu/educational-programs/programs/index.html

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Click on the following link to watch the video:
http://dai.ly/gqPo4E

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But how does that translate to you—the guy who’s about to buy a diamond for the love of his life?

At GIA, we see this blog as a new way for us to share tips and hints and address concerns about diamond buying—specifically for engagements and weddings, but really for any occasion.

We know you’re out there looking on the boards and forums and really excellent websites dedicated to weddings. We see you out there and have engaged you in diamond discussions (our screen name is GIAinfo on various sites).  But we couldn’t help but think you might like something straight from, well, the horse’s mouth.

After all, GIA is the creator of The 4Cs of diamond value (carat, color, clarity, and cut). We’re also the birthplace of the International Diamond Grading System™. Today, GIA’s D-Z diamond color-grading scale, Flawless–I3 diamond clarity-grading scale and Excellent-to-Poor diamond cut-grading scale are recognized by virtually every professional jeweler and savvy diamond buyer in the world.

You need to learn; we’ve got some of the world’s best teachers. And we’re looking forward to sharing our wealth of knowledge with you.

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