World Of Gems Conference 2017 Proceedings Book

INTRODUCTION World of Gems Conference V September 23-24, 2017 Loews Hotel, Rosemont, Illinois, USA “Knowledge to Practical” T his was the fifth installment of theWorld of Gems Conferences (2008, 2010, 2012, 2014) and as many have now said, “Gemworld has raised the bar.”We are proud of the first-class events that we have managed to offer to the in- dustry and the formula has worked well; offer a weekend packed with speakers of varied subject matter from all over the world, at an affordable price, in a great location, and make sure that every attendee has a great time. The conference at- tendees were all excited to be there from the very beginning. There was enthu- siasm and a definite buzz all weekend. This year our speakers came from the Netherlands, France, Thailand, Canada, the UK, and the US. Subjects ranged from diamonds to jade, sapphires, pearls, treat- ments, pricing and more. Each of our speakers has prepared an abstract of their talk and they all appear here in this con- ference book. All attendees receive the conference book in hard copy format and other non-attendees with affiliation to Gemworld will receive a PDF version. This year for the first time we had a call for posters and we had several that were submitted from multiple countries. In- cluding the two Gemworld posters, we had eight posters in total. One of the poster presenters from the UK, Sarah Steele, was present at the conference and on the second day, she also set up a hands-on display of jet to complement her poster. Included in this post conference book are the abstracts for these posters. The full posters may become available for viewing in the future. We thank the GIA for being our poster sponsor. As with previous conferences special optional workshops were offered before and after the weekend. Gemworld held most of the workshops but in addition to our usual topics, the Gem-A also held two workshops; one on practical handheld spectroscopy, and one on synthetics, treatments, and simulants. The workshops have always been a great addition to the conference, well-received and attended with an opportunity for further hands on education. The conference was not without our usual fun and networking opportunities. Friday night was our usual Meet and Greet where early arrivals enjoyed cocktails in our private bar setting at the hotel. This was a great way to kick off the weekend, reacquaint with old friends from past conferences, and meet new friends. The Gala on Saturday night featured a selection of great appetizers and cocktails and dancing. All had a great time at this party sponsored by EstateBuyers.com. As with every conference that we have hosted, the sponsors all stepped up in a big way to help subsidize the cost. Our Platinum Premier sponsor was Joseph DuMouchelle, buyers, sellers, auctioneers, and appraisers of fine & estate jewelry. Our Gold Plus Gala sponsor was EstateBuyers.com. The Gold plus Poster sponsor was GIA. Our Gold sponsors were Gem-A, Jewelers Mutual, AGTA, AGL, and Gemfields. Many other sponsors joined us at the Bronze level, or placed an ad in this book or had a table display during the conference. Their support is greatly appreciated. Thank you to all sponsors and of course to all the attendees for whom without, the conference would not be great. u Richard B. Drucker President, Gemworld International Conference Chair WORLD OF GEMS CONFERENCE V - 1 - SEPTEMBER 2017