Researcher Thomas Hainschwang wins Bonanno award

Thomas Hainschwang San Diego--The Accredited Gemologists Association has chosen Thomas Hainschwang, director of the GGTL Laboratories in Liechtenstein, as the recipient of the 2015 Antonio C. Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology.

The Bonanno Award recognizes those who have made significant contributions to the gemological field. Recipients of the award are selected by a majority vote of the AGA membership.

Hainschwang earned his doctorate at the University of Nantes in France under the supervision of Emmanuel Fritch, who received the Bonanno award in 2013.

Hainschwang’s contributions to gemological literature include more than 100 articles on various aspects of gemology and analytical instrumentation.

AGA President Stuart Robertson said, “At a rather young age, Hainschwang has already distinguished himself and made an enduring mark on the field of gemology. Take any one of his numerous studies concerning various aspects of natural, treated and laboratory-grown diamonds, their features and phenomena, and it would stand alone as worthy of distinction. Yet with Thomas, we see a pattern of diligent investigation and desire to address the critical issues.”

The AGA added that he has demonstrated his commitment to these issues not only through his investigations but also by making his findings available for peer review and publication.

Hainschwang was integral in detecting, and then immediately informing the trade, after he discovered that small natural pearls were being used as nuclei in an effort to create larger pearls that could be mistakenly identified as natural.

He has been able to achieve a number of breakthroughs in leading issues facing the trade today by remaining loyal to an approach to gemology that applies rules prevalent in a scientific approach, the AGA said.

Previous Bonanno winners include John Emmett, Emmanuel Fritsch, Thom Underwood, Stuart Robertson, C.R. Beesley, Robert Crowningshield, Richard Drucker, Antoinette Matlins, Shane McClure, James Shigley and Christopher Smith.

The award will be presented to Hainschwang at the AGA’s gala dinner dance at the end of its conference in Tucson on Feb. 4 at the Marriott University Park Hotel.

For more information or to attend the conference, visit the AGA website or call the organization at 619-501-5444.