What have you been up to since completing your studies with Gem-A?
Since completing my Gem-a qualification, I have been full time self employed designing fabricating and selling jewelry on my Etsy shop ‘TrumpetForTwo’.
How has your gem-a qualification helped you in your career so far?
Thanks to my Gem-a qualification I feel confident testing the stones I use, which has been tremendously helpful, as a small shop/sole proprietor it is difficult to build relationships with mines/gem wholesalers but getting stones where I can test them and establish their identity myself. The knowledge of stones I acquired studying has also been really helpful in my lapidary and design work, how to best use different materials to play to their strengths.
What are the most important skills you have taken away from your gem-a studies?
The most important gemmologist skills for my work have been orienting stones for lapidary, finding cleavage planes and which inclusions are structural weaknesses and which can be oriented around and displayed attractively. For aspiring gemmologists I would suggest getting your hands on as many different samples and materials as possible, the more pieces you test the better, getting familiar with the variations within each material is important, also fun.
What would you say to anyone considering taking a gem-a course?
I would say if you have the opportunity and enjoy gemstones, studying them really enriches your appreciation of the materials and I would definitely recommend it.
