French Association of Gemmology Announces First Speaker Topics for 18th Gemmological Symposium

The Association Française de Gemmologie (the French Association of Gemmology) is releasing information about the subjects to be addressed by the high-level speakers at the 18th Paris Gemmological Rendez Vous. The prestigious annual gems symposium will take place on September 9, 2019, at: l’ASIEM, 6 rue Albert de Lapparent, Paris, France.

This is the initial speakers list:
Alan Bronstein, President of the Natural Color Diamond Association since 2017, will speak on the subject of Touring The World of Nature’s Colour Fantasie” Diamonds. A Darwinian approach to the evolution of natural color diamond consciousness. “Today we (society) has focused so much importance on rarity and value, we have lost that childlike experience of excitement from unconditional beauty and joy. Natural diamonds have a special quality that affects us emotionally. Let’s explore and see if colors and shapes affect our joy factor.” Alan Bronstein became involved with natural color diamonds in 1980 as a trader, (visual) scientist, collector and educator about their variety. His systematic collection, the color matrix, called The Aurora Pyramid of Hope, has been on exhibition at the National History Museum of London since 2005. His artwork called The Aurora Butterfly of Peace is on display at Museum of Natural Science in Houston, Texas.

Aurélien Delaunay, director of the French Laboratory Of Gemmology (LFG), will give a presentation on: Type IIa diamonds at the LFG: their analysis and classification with DiamondView. “Type IIa diamonds are thoroughly analyzed in the LFG as they can be natural, synthetic or treated. At the Laboratoire Français de Gemmologie, all diamonds (Type I and type II) are observed with the DiamondView ™ luminescence imaging system. This analysis makes it possible to discover the diversity of growth morphology and luminescence of Type IIa diamonds (growth, deformations, etc.). We propose to use the luminescence colour but also the patterns and sectors observed to classify the different DiamondView ™ images. These diamonds are then analyzed in photoluminescence in order to determine the nature and the potential treatment (HPHT in particular).”

Richard Duffy, CEO of Petra Diamonds since April, will give a talk entitled: Petra Diamonds, A Unique Portfolio. Petra Diamonds owns and operates the Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefontein mines in South Africa, and the Williamson mine in Tanzania. “These mines all have rich histories associated with them, as over many years they have produced some of the world’s most spectacular and celebrated diamonds. Diamonds from our mines have been presented to royalty, used to commemorate passionate love affairs (as in the case with the famous Taylor-Burton diamond) and have achieved both historic one-of-a-kind polished masterpieces, as well as record prices.”

David Fisher, Principal Scientist, De Beers Technology, Synthetic Diamonds, will talk on the topic of Recent Developments and Improvements in Detection. “The last few years have seen significant developments in the growth of synthetic diamonds using both the High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) and Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) synthesis routes. The potential technical applications of synthetic diamond have driven much of this development, but this talk will highlight changes that have implications for the gem diamond market and the improved detection methods that are now employed by gemmologists to continue to support consumer confidence. Enhancements in the capabilities of the De Beers verification instruments have sought to address the challenges that have emerged for both large and melee sized diamonds. These smaller stones have led to a revolution in the approach adopted requiring greater automation and a fundamental shift in the measurement techniques employed.”

Stéphane Fischler, President of the World Diamond Council, will speak on: Ethics and creative genius. Preserving the union of magic and reason. “Ethics is everyone’s business and the ‘sine qua non’ condition of preservation and growth in our industry. We must preserve the balance between sparkle and trust, between magic and reason.” He will talk about the many initiatives taken by the industry, and conclude with a call for the preservation of French and European know-how, which is a unique heritage.

The moderator of the symposium is Didier Giard, President of the French Association of Gemmology and a member of the French Academy of Overseas Sciences. “This year’s symposium will be taking a comprehensive look at diamonds,” said Giard. “During a period of many challenges to the natural diamond industries including synthetics and a volatile international market, we are very proud to host such distinguished members of the diamond industry. They will be giving us their considered views, backed by years of experience, on the diamond industry from many different angles.

“This is a one-day event (9.15 am to 6.00 pm) that will give the audience plenty of food for thought, from diamond mining, the current state of the market, and coloured diamonds to the scientific, gemmological and historical aspects of natural diamonds. I would urge members of the trade to register as soon as possible in order to secure a place at the symposium since there are a limited number of places available. The symposium will have simultaneous French and English translation.” Information about the rest of the speakers and their presentation topics will be released towards the end of August.