The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) has released the latest issue of its academic publication, The Journal of Gemmology, in collaboration with the Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF, with the support of the American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) and The Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT). The current issue (Vol. 35, No. 2), released on 11 July 2016, is packed with a wide array of new content, covering the latest news and research from the international gemmological community.

The issue features the articles: ‘Major- and Trace-element Composition of Paraíba-type Tourmaline from Brazil, Mozambique and Nigeria’ (by Martin Okrusch, Andreas Ertl, Ulrich Shüssler, Ekkehart Tillmanns, Helene Brätz and Hermann Bank), ‘Identification of Colourless HPHT-grown Synthetic Diamonds from Shandong, China’ (by Zhonghua Song, Taijin Lu, Shi Tang, Jie Ke, Jun Su, Bo Gao, Ning Hu, Jun Zhang, Jun Zhou, Lijun Bi and Dufu Wang), ‘Gem-quality Sekaninaite from the Czech Republic’ (by Radek Hanus, Ivana Kusá and Jana Kasíková) and ‘Phase Transformation of Epigenetic Iron Staining: Indication of Low-Temperature Heat Treatment in Mozambique Ruby’ (by Tasnara Sripoonjan, Bhuwadol Wanthanachaisaeng and Thanong Leelawatanasuk).

In addition to this collection of ground-breaking new articles, The Journal also delves into ‘What’s New’ in the industry by highlighting new technologies such as the D-Secure Synthetic Diamond Detection Instrument, the Dialite MasterGrader and updates to the ASDI Device and GemLab instruments, as well as reporting on the new mineral ‘Kyawthuite’. Furthermore, the issue features a listing of upcoming conferences, exhibits and other educational events to further the professional development of its readers.

Other sections that are sure to interest practicing gemmologists include ‘Gem Notes’, which describes a variety of new and interesting materials from Pakistan, Turkey, Norway, Tanzania, Mozambique and Afghanistan. The ‘Conferences’ section features reviews of recent events, including the Accredited Gemologists Association’s (AGA) Conference, the Mediterranean Gemmological & Jewellery Conference, the China Gems & Jewelry Academic Exchange, the Scottish Gemmological Association’s Conference and the Swiss Gemmological Society. ‘New Media’ reviews and lists the titles of new books on the market, and ‘Literature of Interest’ points the reader toward recently published gemmological articles, some of which are downloadable for free.

All Gem-A Members receive hard copies and online access to quarterly editions of The Journal of Gemmology and Gem-A’s sister publication Gems&Jewellery (published six times a year), along with a whole host of other features and benefits, for just £135 a year. In addition, The Journal is available by direct subscription to institutions.

The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) is pleased to announce that its flagship publication, The Journal of Gemmology, has been accepted for indexing in Thomson Reuters’ new Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), part of the prestigious Web of ScienceTM research platform. This exciting development will allow The Journal to be fully searchable and citable by academics, authors and researchers across all fields of science. The quality and depth of content that the Web of ScienceTM offers to researchers, authors, publishers and institutions sets it apart from other research databases, and the inclusion of The Journal in the ESCI demonstrates Gem-A’s dedication to providing the most relevant and influential scholarly gemmological content to the gem and jewellery community. Journals in ESCI have passed an initial editorial evaluation and continue to be considered for inclusion in other Thomson Reuters’ products such as the prestigious Science Citation Index Expanded database.

The Journal of Gemmology’s editor-in-chief Brendan Laurs FGA is thrilled with the development, stating: “The Journal’s inclusion in Web of ScienceTM is good for our authors, for our readers, and for gemmology in general. The Journal will now be in a better position to attract articles from researchers at top universities who are required to publish in Web of ScienceTM journals, and our readers will benefit from this cutting-edge research. The Journal’s coverage by Web of ScienceTM will certainly help raise awareness of gemmology to the global scientific community.”

I am very excited to announce the launch of the new Gem-A website. The new site delivers vast improvements on our previous one, and, as we become fully live and operational over the coming months, will be user friendly and inspiring to our many audiences. We have worked hard to deliver an improved interface and provide better access to Gem-A services for our members, the wider gemmological community and anyone interested in pursuing our leading gemmology courses. Please be aware that as with all website launches there are several areas still under construction, but we are working towards delivery of the full website soon. As is always the case with such a complex undertaking we welcome any suggestions for improvement over the next couple of months — please email webadmin@gem-a.com with your comments and feedback.

I am also thrilled to announce that we have launched a web-based global forum, accessible via the new website, as a replacement for the old Mailtalk system. The new global forum will be easy to use and will provide an online meeting point for our collective expertise, questions and discussions — a fantastic resource and service for members. The service will be moderated carefully, but we hope it will develop and flourish as it did before. 

I’d like to thank all of the team at Gem-A who have worked hard on this fantastic new development for the Association and hope you enjoy using it. 

Alan Hart

Chief Executive Officer