Hey Loungers,
Wim Vertriest is the current Supervisor of GIA´s field gemology program in Bangkok, Thailand.
Today, we propose you an interview with Wim in hope to better understand what field gemology is all about and what the average day at Bangkok´s GIA office looks like as well as how and why is a gemological field expedition deployed.
With this in mind, we propose you to fasten your seat belt and to follow us as we interview Wim Vertriest. Wim, the floor is yours!
AsiaLounges: First of all, thank you Wim for being with us today for this interview. Shall we start with our traditional introduction? Who are you Wim Vertriest?
Wim Vertriest: I am Wim Vertriest, born and raised in Belgium. I grew up just north of Brussels in an environment without gems, gemology, jewellery… I am pretty sure that the only jewelry around our house were my parent's gold wedding bands.
During high school I had a geography teacher who was passionate about earth science and geology. This lead me to studying geology at university where I got a bachelor degree as well as a Master’s degree in Geology specializing in Geodynamics and Geofluids. My focus was on ore geology in Central Africa, in areas like the copper belt in southeast Congo and Zambia or the coltan deposits in Eastern Congo-Rwanda-Burundi.
At this point in my life (2014) I still didn’t know that ruby was red and sapphire was blue…
In my last semester at university, I took a short class on gemology in Antwerp. Given the location, I mainly saw diamonds, but colored stones were introduced to me as well eventually. They immediately caught my attention and haven’t let me go for the last 5 years! After graduating university, I learned a lot about the industry and made a few trips to Bangkok, the world colored stone capital. All of this resulted in joining GIA’s field gemology program in September 2015 as a trainee field gemologist. Three and a half years later I am supervisor of field gemology at GIA Bangkok.
AsiaLounges: You now have a number of presentation on GIA Field Gemology program’s behalf under your belt but, that doesn’t mean that the general public understand what it is you do concretely. Could you tell us, in layman terms, what is Field Gemology all about? Why is it important?
Wim Vertriest: Field gemology is a very focused area of gemology. It was founded because of the increasing importance that is put on the country of origin for colored gemstones. People are demanding origin on certain gem varieties which can prove to be a challenging task for gem labs.
Contrary to the common belief, there are no black box instruments that gives you an easy and direct answer about the gem origin and its potential treatments.
Advanced, and less advanced, instruments require a lot of background knowledge on the techniques used. Everyone can get an excel file of numbers or some wobbling lines out of an advanced instrument, that doesn’t mean anything. It is only useful if you can interpret this data! This is what we are here for! Building this reliable collection and database is the core mission of GIA's Field Gemology department.
For example, in the case of origin determination, the only way one can conclusively say that a ruby is from Mozambique, would be if you have seen enough Mozambican rubies before and thus, you know what they look like. Acquiring reliable samples to study is extremely challenging! This is where field gemology comes in: we are responsible for GIA’s colored stone reference collection. We maintain and expand this set of rubies, sapphires, emeralds and other colored stones.
The most reliable way to build such a collection is to travel to mines and get them from/on the ground yourself. Due to a variety of factors (rarity of gems, locality, political situation on the ground, etc) this is not always feasible.
Wim analysing the geology of the Winza ruby mines with the help of a local miner in Central Tanzania. During this expedition, some low quality rubies of very reliable origin were found in the host rock! - Photo by V. Pardieu / GIA
We always try to get as close to the source but a significant part of our collection was acquired in local markets, from miners, … some pieces are even bought in international trade shows like Hong Kong or Tucson. Off course this has an impact on reliability of the stone: an emerald taken out of the host rock in the Ethiopian jungles has a trustworthier provenance than a handful of crystals found at a dealers office in another country. It is critical to note all this information and preserve it, since it might impact our conclusions afterwards. Apart from this, a wealth of other data is stored along with the samples such as: GPS coordinates of the mining area, buying location, associated minerals etc.
So far GIA’s field gemology program has done 92 field expeditions on 5 continents visiting nearly every major ruby, sapphire and emerald mine. This has resulted in a reference collection of more than 21000 samples totaling more than 1 million carats. A sample can be 1 stone, but might also be a parcel of 100’s of stones. All of these gems are available to GIA researchers who are working on various colored stone projects, often heavily focused on origin determination but might also include treatment projects.
During the latest GIA symposium in the fall of 2018, I gave a talk during the Research track on Field Gemology which can be seen here:
To summarize: GIA’s field gemology program builds a reliable reference collection of colored gemstones with a focus on various origins which are used by GIA staff in their various research projects.
AsiaLounges: I think we all more or less understand that, albeit field gemology being called that way, most of your work time is spent in the lab. Could you tell us, what are you guys doing there and how it helps further the general gemological understanding?
Wim Vertriest: Correct! Collecting the samples is actually a small part of my job. Most of my time is spent in the lab where I collaborate with other researchers on various projects. This ranges from writing articles, collecting data on advanced equipment, preparing sample sets for experiments etc.
A lot of the projects I collaborate on focus on origin determination where we provide in-depth analysis ruby/sapphire from a locality. Over the last two years, we wrapped up a couple of summaries on Burmese sapphire, Siamese rubies and Ethiopian emeralds.
You can check some of these finished projects here:
- https://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research/sapphire-chanthaburi-thailand-gemological-characteristics
- https://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research/blue-sapphires-baw-mar-mine-mogok-myanmar
- https://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research/sapphires-gem-rush-bemainty-ambatondrazaka-madagascar
- https://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research/study-rubies-cambodia-thailand
I am also involved in treatment experiments where we study the changes in stones before and after treatment. Our latest experiments taught us a lot of things about how low temperature treatment of Mozambican rubies affects them. We analysed several Mozambican rubies taken directly from the ground by our teams, thus ensuring that they were untreated, and heated them at various conditions. This allowed us to further understand how these gems inclusions and spectra change depending on the treatment they were submitted to. This includes but is not limited to, the way they change according to temperature and treatment time for example.
Wim documenting the occurrence of rubies and its associated minerals in an artisanal ruby mine in the Uluguru Mountains of Tanzania. - Photo by V. Pardieu / GIA
Read more about this experiment here:
I also spend a lot of time staying in touch with the trade. Very often new discoveries (localities or treatments) are kept secret for as long as possible. This is challenging for us as a lab as we are not immediately aware of these new developments or how to identify them. Regular meetings with people from the trade help us to stay in touch with the current events and developments.
Another part of my job is sharing our collected information with the gem community. This includes writing articles and reports that are available on GIA’s website www.gia.edu, in Gems & Gemology as well as in other trade publications
A smaller, yet very important, part of this outreach are our presentations at trade shows to inform everyone about the latest developments.
This shows that my job is very diverse and I enjoy the large variety of tasks. One day I work with advanced gemological instruments, the next day I meet up with a gem treater, another day is spent going through lots of rough gemstones, followed by a day of speaking to students…
Our most recent article on our expedition to the gem mining areas of Ethiopia contains all elements of being a field gemologist. In the field we travel in different circumstances, do geological interpretations in the field, meet people of different cultures, acquire samples in the field, document the mining process, exchanging information with local experts, export samples legally etc.
In the lab we study these samples extensively ranging from simple tests like fluorescence evaluation, to highly advanced trace element quantification.
Find more about it here:
- https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/spring-2019-land-of-origins-gemological-expedition-ethiopia
AsiaLounges: Could you tell us, without breaking the secrets of the Gods, how and why is a gemmological expedition decided and planned? Would it be perhaps ok for you to concretise your answer by giving actual details of past expeditions? (feel free to send links to GIA Field Exp articles / Videos etc)
Wim Vertriest: There are a number of factors that are taken into account when planning an expedition.
First of all, it is important to keep in mind that the field gemology program exists to support GIA’s colored stone identification service! That means collecting as much info and samples as we can on deposits and treatments that are challenging to identify. We get directions from GIA’s laboratory on where our collection should be expanded.
It’s most important to evaluate the situation on the ground. Important questions you need to ask yourself are:
- Is it safe to go?
- Local political situations are critical and sometimes changing quickly. Some important gem producing areas are controlled by insurgent groups who are typically not keen on visitors!
- Many areas have strong seasonal variations which can impact travel conditions and accommodation. It is not advised to travel to East Africa during the rainy season since storms can destroy a lot of infrastructure and bring a higher risk for tropical diseases as we’ve recently seen with cyclones Kenneth and Idai in Mozambique.
- Am I allowed to visit the area?
- In many cases official (government) permission is required to visit mining areas, but it is equally important to have the local community support since they have the latest info and scoops in artisanal mining areas.
- Do I have support?
- We always have support from someone who is familiar with the terrain, language and local customs to help us during expeditions. Finding trustworthy contacts and gaining their trust is often a long process.
- Can I acquire samples?
- Buying is sometimes restricted, as is export of the samples. In some countries, licenses are required to legally acquire samples.
Eventually expeditions are planned on combining the situation on the ground and GIA’s need for these samples.
As an example, I can give you the Ethiopia expedition. In late 2016-early 2017, sapphires and emeralds started coming out of Ethiopia. The emeralds could be easily confused with Zambian, Brazilian or Russian emeralds that have a similar inclusion scene. We contacted the ministry in January 2017 to arrange an expedition to these mining areas, but it was not until March 2018 that we could actually reach the ground and start the actual visit and sample collection.
AsiaLounges: Our understanding is that all gemologists, gem dealers, etc. have their gems of choice. Imagine that! Should you be freed of market considerations and you could just study a gem type at your leisure which one would it be?
Wim Vertriest: The beauty of colored stones is that everyone can find something to their liking! This immense diversity means that you can always find something to like (or dislike) ;)
My favorite stone changes frequently. The more I learn about certain stones, the more they grow on me. Recently I learned to appreciate all stones where orange-pink-yellow are thrown in the mix, like padparascha sapphires and some of the lighter colored garnets. Until a few months ago, I had never really noticed them but by looking at them in more detail I started to appreciate their delicate colors. This all started from a research project where we looked at the subtle yellow component in several sapphires found in Madagascar and Sri Lanka and how this can be influenced by radiation.
Rubies will always have a special place in my heart. It is the stone I do most of my work on so I am, gemologically speaking, most familiar with this gem. There is still so much to learn about a simple gems like rubies which are basically aluminum oxide with some chromium sprinkled in it!!!
AsiaLounges: At some point you too will need to teach the next generation of Field Gemologists, perhaps some are even reading these lines now, could you tell us what makes a good field gemologist?
Wim Vertriest: A good field gemologist is able to wear many hats and get along with all kinds of people. Flexibility and adaptability are very important traits for a field gemologist! Last week I was messaging, simultaneously, with a Tanzanian bush dealer and American university professors. They both have a tremendous amount of knowledge but the way you interact with each of them is very different!
Wearing the hat of researcher requires a strong academic background and the skills to work in a professional laboratory. Focus and concentration are critical to get good analytical results, a strong background in (analytical) science is required to interpret all this data.
You also need to be gemologist, so strong gemological training is also required eg GIA GG or an FGA.
When you walk in your ‘trade shoes’, you need to be able to look at stones and describe them the way a trader would. On top of that, in different sections of the trade, people approach stones differently eg a salesperson in a high jewelry store looks at rubies very differently than a rough buyer in Mozambique or a heat treater in Thailand; but you still need to be able to follow all their visions.
Working in the field is its own specialty, where common sense and a cautious attitude often get you further than a wild and adventurous spirit. Being creative, optimistic, (a bit) handy, and always ready for the next surprise (good or bad) are essential in the field!
AsiaLounges: Back to the Field Gemology department, provided that you can speak about it, what’s the next gem conquest on your map?
Wim Vertriest: We always prefer to keep our expeditions lowkey, so we can do our work uninterrupted! It’s becoming more and more challenging with the rise of social media but we do not communicate a lot about our expeditions until we are back and have finished some of the work!
AsiaLounges: Thank you very much for answering these questions Wim, we hope that our readers enjoyed our chat as much as we did writing it! Loungers, I can only recommend you to follow Wim and the results of his expeditions on GIA’s website Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
As for us, we are already working on other exiting articles about the world of gems and jewellery and, of course, are preparing some exiting pieces for you to feast your eyes upon!
As per usual, feel free to contact us directly at simon@asialounges.com to let us know what you´d like to read about next or to know more about gems and jewellery in general!
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See you in the Lounges,