A gem dealer's journal — gems

Hey Loungers,

We like to say that nothing makes a gem shine quite as much as when it is adorning a lady’s finger. But what if, the very person designing the jewelry was one of the most prized jeweler currently in activity and a lady to boot? Wouldn’t that bring an extra touch of femininity?

Today we have the pleasure of receiving the acclaimed American jeweler: Erica Courtney!

Erica has been one of the most influential figures in the trade for decades now and is possibly the most iconic standard bearer for the female empowerment in our industry.

We will be looking forward to understanding what makes her brand special, where does her imagination come from and the world that comes before the creation process of her lovely pieces of jewelry.

Without any further delay, we give you, Erica Courtney!

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!

Hey Loungers,

Today we’ll be welcoming in our column for the first part of a twin interview Mr. Stewart Young.

Stewart has been working for some of the most famous auction houses in the world and has more recently been at the helm of the rise of Hong Kong’s fastest rising auction house: Tiancheng International.

Today, Stewart is at the helm of his very own high jewellery brand but that will be a story we’ll be discussing in part two of this interview so stay tuned to learn more about it.

Without any further delays we give today’s guest: Stewart Young!

Hey Loungers, 

Today we interview Nicholas Sturman, currently GIA’s senior manager of pearl identification globally who is based in Bangkok. Nick has over three decades of pearl identification under his belt and is here today to help us understand this very specialized part of the trade.

Our British friend worked on pearls for 16 years in Bahrain before joining us here, in the world gem capital, Bangkok, almost 11 years ago. 

Without any further delays we give you Nick Sturman,

Hey Loungers,

Today we receive Vincent Pardieu, one of the most famous, if not the most famous field gemologist in activity. Vince has been working for AIGS, then Gübelin and rose to fame through his tenure at GIA as he started the Field Gemology department for the Bangkok chapter of the famous organisation.

Today, while providing independent services at “VP Consulting SPC”, he is affiliated to DANAT, the Bahrain based lab where he is building a reference collection. This endeavour allows him and his teams of cameramen and photographers to travel the world and go from mine to mine and further gemological knowledge worldwide.

Today, we’ll pick his brain about field gemology obviously, but also about his thoughts about the trade, the tendencies and of course about his favourite gems.

Without any further delays, we give you Vincent Pardieu!