The more than 60 scientists, engineers, gemologists and technicians of GIA’s global research team met November 1-3 at the Institute’s world headquarters in Carlsbad, CA. Joined by members of the GIA Board of Governors and several prominent consulting scientists, the participants discussed and reviewed recent extensive discoveries that underpin GIA’s education programs, laboratory services and instrument development.

“Rigorous independent research is at the center of GIA’s activities and is vital to our consumer protection mission and our services for the trade,’ said Tom Moses, GIA Executive Vice President and Chief Laboratory and Research Officer.

“As the focus of our efforts has progressed from gemological discoveries and investigative techniques to incorporate ever-more advanced technologies, the scope of this meeting has expanded to include artificial intelligence, advanced statistical modeling, new custom and proprietary instruments, and advancements in automation.”

Participants in the three-day conference discussed the latest research advancements in natural and laboratory-grown diamonds, colored stones, pearls and instrumentation.

The discussion of natural and laboratory-grown diamonds included observations of the unique inclusions in diamonds, fluorescence and color-zoning in some colored diamonds, advancements in laboratory-grown diamonds and the continuing challenges of research into diamond origin determination.

Regarding colored stones, the researchers delved into the geochemistry of various species, the use of advanced techniques to detect diffusion treatments and the gemological characterization of emeralds from North Carolina, United States. Pearl topics included the challenges in identifying unusual cultured pearls and using trace‐elemental analysis and machine learning to support pearl origin identification.

The discussion of technology included advanced imaging systems to support the grading of high-clarity diamonds and the development of a fancy shape cut grading system, and advancements in GIA’s efforts to develop an automated instrument-based diamond grading system for many categories of diamonds.