GIA to Stage GemFest Seminar at International Jewellery Tokyo Show

(IDEX Online News) – The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will be staging a GemFest seminar on January 24 at the International Jewellery Tokyo show.

Thomas M. Moses, chief laboratory and research officer for GIA, will present a laboratory update, while Ahmadjan Abduriyim, GIA researcher, will discuss corundum mining activities in South East Asia.

Moses, GIA’s executive vice president, will provide an update on GIA laboratory services and research. Moses has been involved in the Institute’s groundbreaking gem identification and research effort. “Japan is an important market for the gem and jewelry industry. This free educational event will offer the audience an update on developments in the laboratory and research,” he said.  

Abduriyim, GIA’s senior research scientist and manager of Colored Stone Services, will show a video and discuss corundum mining in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. “Mining observation and feedback from the region can help GIA improve ruby and sapphire origin determination for the global gem trade,” he said.

Moses oversees all GIA laboratory and research operations and activities. In November 2013 he was appointed to the GIA Board of Governors and the position of executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer.

Abduriyim received his doctorate in mineralogy from the Division of Earth and Planetary Science at Kyoto University in Japan. He has authored numerous gemological articles, including work on geographic origin determination of major gemstones and the applications of LA-ICP-MS in the gemological field.