Mark Your Calendar with GIA’s Tucson Activities
It’s not too early to start putting together your game plan for the February 2010 Tucson shows. GIA has a number of courses and seminars that will expand your knowledge on a variety of gemological topics. And don’t forget to RSVP for the best party in town: the GIA Alumni Association annual dinner and dance party.
GIA Show Service Laboratory at the AGTA Show
GIA will offer quick, convenient access to gem identification and country-of-origin services during the shows. Drop off your gemstones at the AGTA Show in the Onyx Suite of the Tucson Convention Center. The laboratory will be available:
Feb. 1-6: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Feb. 7: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This is a great opportunity to use your GIA GemPasses™ for identification and country-of-origin services. Find out more.
GIA Education
All classes and seminars will be held at the Tucson Convention Center.
Gem Identification Lab class
Required for G.G. and Graduate Colored Stones diploma programs
Feb. 1-5, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Gila Room
Learn the same time-tested procedures and identification skills used by GIA’s renowned gemological experts. Gain confidence using a microscope, refractometer, polariscope, dichroscope, spectroscope, and loupe to identify natural gemstones, imitations, and synthetics. You’ll get expert demonstrations and coaching in quick, effective testing procedures, with plenty of hands-on practice. Students must pass a five-stone practical test to complete the class.
Credential earned: GIA Letter of Completion
Tuition: $1,350 plus a $45 book fee
Pearls
Feb. 6, 9-11 a.m.
Gila Room
Learn about the quality factors involved in classifying cultured and natural pearls and the grading methodology used by the GIA Laboratory. Participants will have the opportunity to grade cultured pearls according to GIA’s 7 Pearl Value Factors™.
Credential earned: Letter of Attendance
Tuition: $145
Gemstone Treatment Update
(Previous gemological training or experience recommended)
Feb. 6, 1-3 p.m.
Gila Room
Gain deeper insight into the major gemstone treatments found in the marketplace today and discover how to detect them. You’ll also enhance your identification skills with hands-on practice using a microscope.
Credential earned: Letter of Attendance
Tuition: $145
Free Seminars
From the Andes to the Pantanal – The Story of Bolivia’s Ametrine
Feb. 4, 1-2 p.m.
Greenlee Room
GIA photojournalist Robert Weldon and GIA videographer Pedro Padua traveled through Bolivia to document the story of ametrine and the Anahà mine. Join them on a journey from Bolivia’s highest peaks to the mine along the banks of the Pantanal.
Books for Gem Lovers
Feb. 4, 1-2 p.m.
Mohave Room
Authors of recent gem books discuss their works.
GIA Research Update
Feb. 6, 9-10 a.m.
Mohave Room
Take this chance to meet a GIA researcher who will answer questions and review the very latest developments in gem treatments, synthetics, identification, and other topics of interest.
