Titanic jewelry among topics for Gem-A conference

London--The Gemmological Association of Great Britain has confirmed 13 speakers for its upcoming annual conference, which will include a presentation on the jewels recovered from the wreck of the famed RMS Titanic. 

Gem-A’s annual conference is scheduled for Nov. 1 to 4, returning to the former Royal Agricultural Hall in London, now known as the Business Design Centre, as it changes its program to make it more interactive for members.

There, the organization will welcome a number of speakers from across the globe to provide the most innovative and relevant gem-related topics, Gem-A said.

The speakers confirmed for the conference is as follows.

Saturday, Nov. 1
Bruce Bridges; “The History of Tsavorite and Legacy of Campbell Bridges”
Edward Boehm; “Analyzing Gems on the Go: Tips from the Field”
Thomas Hainschwang, FGA; “The Challenges Faced by Green to Greenish Blue Diamonds Colored by Natural or Artificial Irradiation”
Alan Hart, FGA DGA
Ulrich Henn; “The Different Types of Moonstone”
Brian Cook; “Paraiba Tourmaline: An Update. Bahia Golden Rutilated Quartz: The Introduction”
Vincent Pardieu; “From Jedi to Windex: A Quest to the Origins of the Ultimate Red and Blue Spinels”

Sunday, Nov. 2
Craig Lynch, GG; “The Recovered Jewelry of the Titanic”
Chris Smith, FGA; “Ruby and Sapphire Source-Type Classification: An Objective Approach to Help Make Country of Origin Determinations More Consistent”
Terry Coldham; “Australian Sapphire--A Forgotten Foundation Stone of Thailand’s Gemstone Industry”
Menahem Sevdermish, FGA; “Further Developments into Digital Color Analysis, Grading, Pricing, and Trading of Gems”
Richard Hughes, FGA
Laurent Cartier, FGA; “An Update on Worldwide Cultured Pearl Production”

Monday, Nov. 3
Mikko Åström, FGA, and Alberto Scarani, GG, from GemmoRaman; “Gemmological Applications of Raman & Photoluminescence Spectroscopy”

Monday night’s programming also will include the Gem-A Graduation Ceremony, hosted by JTV CEO Tim Matthews.

Tuesday, Nov. 4
This day will include a private visit to the mineral collection at the Natural History Museum, hosted by Alan Hart, FGA DGA, from 9:45 a.m. to noon. 

In the afternoon, Greg Valerio and Vivien Johnston will lead a discussion about global ethical challenges within the industry from 2 to 4 p.m.

“Gem-A’s 2014 conference promises to be one of the best yet,” said Gem-A CEO James Riley. “Continuing from last year’s successful anniversary conference, the 2014 conference will build on the positive feedback received from our event at Goldsmiths Hall in 2013. We understand that the best way to keep