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Richard W. Hughes is an American gemologist and author, known as an authority on corundum, rubies and sapphires.
Hughes graduated from the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS) in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1980, and became a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (F.G.A.) in 1982. He was the director of AIGS during the 1980s, and also served at the American Gem Trade Association’s gemological laboratories in California and New York from 2005 to 2008. In 1997 he authored Ruby & Sapphire, which is considered by many in the gem and jewelry industry to be the most authoritative treatise on the subject. [1]
Hughes has authored or co-authored a number of books on gems as well as numerous articles on gemology over the past 34 years. [2] He received the American Gem Society's Richard T. Liddicoat Journalism Award in both 2004 and 2005. [3] [4] In 2010, Hughes received the Antonio Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology from the Accredited Gemologists Association, [5] in recognition of his contributions to promoting gems and the countries that produce them through his travelogues, as well as his scientific writings and the sharing of this information through trade journals and his website. [6]
Hughes has worked both in lab gemology and also in the wholesale, retail and mining sides of the gem business. He currently resides in Thailand with his wife and daughter, where he continues his gemological research. In 2012, together with his family, he established a Gemological laboratory in Bangkok called Lotus Gemology. In 2017, Lotus Gemology published Hughes' book Ruby & Sapphire: A Gemologist's Guide, [7] covering the corundum gem species. [8] [9] In 2019, Tongji University created an exhibit centering on Lotus Gemology's photography. [10] Van Cleef & Arpels' L’École, School of Jewelry Arts ran an exhibit in Hong Kong featuring photomicrographs from Lotus Gemology in 2020. [11]
A gemstone is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks and occasionally organic materials that are not minerals are also used for jewelry and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their luster or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity and notoriety are other characteristics that lend value to gemstones.
Spinel is the magnesium/aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals. It has the formula MgAl
2O
4 in the cubic crystal system. Its name comes from the Latin word spinella, a diminutive form of spine, in reference to its pointed crystals.
Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide (α-Al2O3) with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin sapphirus from the Greek sappheiros (σάπφειρος), which referred to lapis lazuli. It is typically blue, but natural "fancy" sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, and green colors; "parti sapphires" show two or more colors. Red corundum stones also occur, but are called rubies rather than sapphires. Pink-colored corundum may be classified either as ruby or sapphire depending on locale. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry. They also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires – 9 on the Mohs scale (the third hardest mineral, after diamond at 10 and moissanite at 9.5) – sapphires are also used in some non-ornamental applications, such as infrared optical components, high-durability windows, wristwatch crystals and movement bearings, and very thin electronic wafers, which are used as the insulating substrates of special-purpose solid-state electronics such as integrated circuits and GaN-based blue LEDs. Sapphire is the birthstone for September and the gem of the 45th anniversary. A sapphire jubilee occurs after 65 years.
A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum. Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires. Ruby is one of the traditional cardinal gems, alongside amethyst, sapphire, emerald, and diamond. The word ruby comes from ruber, Latin for red. The color of a ruby is due to the element chromium.
Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gemstone materials. It is a geoscience and a branch of mineralogy. Some jewelers are academically trained gemologists and are qualified to identify and evaluate gems.
Onyx is the parallel-banded variety of chalcedony, an oxide mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands; agate has curved bands while onyx has parallel bands. The colors of its bands range from black to almost every color. Specimens of onyx commonly contain bands of black and/or white. Onyx, as a descriptive term, has also been applied to parallel-banded varieties of alabaster, marble, calcite, obsidian, and opal, and misleadingly to materials with contorted banding, such as "cave onyx" and "Mexican onyx".
Benitoite is a rare blue barium titanium cyclosilicate mineral, found in hydrothermally altered serpentinite. It forms in low temperature, high pressure environments typical of subduction zones at convergent plate boundaries. Benitoite fluoresces under short wave ultraviolet light, appearing bright blue to bluish white in color. The more rarely seen clear to white benitoite crystals fluoresce red under long-wave UV light.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California. It is dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIA's mission is to protect buyers and sellers of gemstones by setting and maintaining the standards used to evaluate gemstone quality. The institute does so through research, gem identification and diamond grading services and a variety of educational programs. Through its library and subject experts, GIA acts as a resource of gem and jewelry information for the trade, the public and media outlets.
Sunstone is a microcline or oligoclase feldspar, which when viewed from certain directions exhibits a spangled appearance. It has been found in Southern Norway, Sweden, various United States localities and on some beaches along the midcoast of South Australia.
Tairus is a synthetic gemstone manufacturer. It was formed in 1989 as part of Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika initiative to establish a joint venture between the Russian Academy of Sciences and Tairus Created Gems Co Ltd. of Bangkok, Thailand. Today Tairus is a major supplier of hydrothermally grown gemstones to the jewellery industry. Later, Tairus became a privately held enterprise, operating out of its Bangkok distribution hub under the trade name Tairus, owned by Tairus Created Gems Co Ltd. of Bangkok, Thailand.
Gems & Gemology is a quarterly scientific journal published by the Gemological Institute of America. Each issue is devoted to research on diamonds, gemstones, and pearls. Topics include geographic sources, imitations and synthetics, treatments, and identification techniques. Established in January 1934, Gems & Gemology is geared toward jewelry professionals and gemologists.
The Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS) is a private gemological school and gemological laboratory based in Bangkok, Thailand.
Richard Shaw "Rick" Brown is an American musician and gemologist. He is perhaps best known for being the lead singer, harmonica player, and co-songwriter of psychedelic rock group The Misunderstood throughout the 1960s.
Gemstones have been found in Greenland, including diamond, ruby, sapphire, kornerupine, tugtupite, lapis lazuli, amazonite, peridot, quartz, spinel, topaz, and tourmaline. Most of Greenland's ruby and sapphire occurrences are located near the village of Fiskenaesset/Qeqertarsuatsiaat on the southwest coast.
Richard T. Liddicoat, Jr. was an American gemologist. Liddicoat was an educator in gemology, who made contributions in the area of diamond quality grading and gem identification. Liddicoat was the Chairman of the Board of Governors at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
Ronald Ringsrud is an emerald dealer, gemologist, and author of Emeralds, A Passionate Guide.
Vladyslav Yavorskyy is a gemstone dealer and jeweler based in Bali, Indonesia, United States. He is best known as one of the world's largest dealers and authorities on spinel. He is also the author of at least six gemstone-related books, one of which was named as one of the Best Books for Gem Lovers by JCK magazine in 2016.
The Star of Adam is an oval-shaped blue star sapphire, currently the largest star sapphire in the world. It weighs 1,404.49 carats. Prior to its discovery in 2015, the Black Star of Queensland, weighing 733 carats (146.6 g), was the largest star sapphire gem in the world.
Golden sheen sapphire, is a recently discovered variety of corundum. Goldsheen sapphire has been tested and confirmed in lab reports as "natural sapphire" by GIA, GIT, GRS, AIGS, Tokio gem labs and Lotus.