Important Note: The author: Vincent Pardieu is an employee of GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Laboratory Bangkok since Dec 2008. Any views expressed on this website - and in particular any views expressed by Vincent Pardieu - are the authors' opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of GIA or GIA Laboratory Bangkok . GIA takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content on this website nor is GIA liable for any mistakes or omissions you may encounter. GIA is in particular not screening, editing or monitoring the content on this website and has no possibility to remove, screen or edit any content.
We are gemologists (gemmologists) sharing a passion for gemstones, gemolology (gemmology), gem people and traveling.
You will find in this website gemological expedition reports and some studies of gemological interest.
Visiting many gem mining areas we saw that people in remote mining and trading areas have difficulties to access to gemological publications. As today the Internet can be accessed in most of these gem mining areas and trading centers, the author started to build this website to give gem people living there the opportunity to see the result of the gemological expeditions they were associated in. It is a way to thanks them for their time and collaboration and to help them to get access to more gemological information.
At the same time the author hope that these expedition reports will please the people from consuming countries interested in gemstones and fascinated by their mysterious origins. Our purpose here is to help people facing difficulties to get quality first hand information about gems and their origins to get the information they need through this website and its links.
With our field expeditions to gemstone mines and gem markets around the world, we intend also here to share our passion for photography, gems and our fascination for the work of the "Gem People" bringing gemstones from the ground to magnificent jewelry.
From the gems external beauty to the intimate beauty of gemstone inclusions, from gem lore to the mines, the people and the landscapes gems origin from, we expect to share with you our passion for gemstone beauty.
We also invite you to join us on some gemological forums we are active in as they are convenient tools to get rapid answers to your questions as they are regularly visited by many other passionate gemologists, jewelers, hobbyists and professionals willing to learn more and share their knowledge about gemstones.
Website Map
Index page: Vincent Pardieu's Blog
About the Author
About me : How did a countryside Frenchman became a "Shameless travel addicted gemologist"? ( Under construction)
October 2007: Gemological expedition to East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) with Richard W. Hughes, Mike Rogers, Guillaume Soubiraa, Warne and Monty Chitty and Philippe Bruno:
Sep. 2005: Madagascar with Richard W. Hughes and Dana Schorr (Will be available one of these days...)
Summer 2005: Gemological expeditions to South East Asia (Vietnam) South Asia (Sri Lanka) and East Africa (Kenya, Madagascar and Tanzania) with J.B. Senoble and Tanguy Lagache with the support of the AIGS, the ICA and the Gubelin Gem Lab:
- Introduction to AIGS/ICA/Gubelin Gem lab 2005 Expeditions
Special THANKS for their support for our field expeditions since 2005:
Any QUESTIONS?
about gems, gemology, field expeditions, studying gemology, minerals, jade, pearls or jewelry? We recommend these FORUMS where the author is contributing:
Do you want to STUDY GEMOLOGY?
Here are some recommended institutes where the author studied gemology in Thailand ... and was happy about his investment!
For those willing to go further after their gemological studies: Recommended Advanced Gemological Courses:
To finish here are some BOOKS about gemology the author have read and appreciated and would like to recommend to people willing to learn more about gemstones, gemology and the places where gemstones are found:
GIA FE02 (GIA Laboratory Bangkok Field Expedition 02): Jan. 03- Jan. 13, 2009: A visit to North Vietnam! For my second field expedition for GIA, as our focus was on that first winter and spring season on ruby and sapphires from South East Asia, I decided to scout again Vietnam. The last time I visited Vietnam gem mining areas was in 2005 and in order to prepare a full scale expedition scheduled for May and June 2009, I decided to take advantage of the fact that one of my friends from Switzerland was visiting the area. Sadly, just few days before the beginning of the expedition, he told me that he would not be able to join it. With the support of Vietnamese gemologist Pham Van Long, and with my old friend Hoc, I was able to visit again the Yen Bai and Luc Yen ruby and spinel mining areas for 5 days: As most people in Vietnam were preparing the "Tet": The Vietnamese New Year, mining was quite low. Nevertheless we were able to visit the spinel mines on a marble cliff near An Phu village and several alluvial type mines in the rice fields around An Phu and Minh Tien villages:
(Gem mining in the paddy fields near Minh Tien village in the south of Yen The city.
Photo: V. Pardieu / GIA Laboratory Bangkok, 2009)
It was also very interesting to meet people in Yen The city, the local gem trading center of the Luc Yen province. There we could see that in less than 20 years the gem mining and trading industry has turned into something very successful: Besides high quality rubies and spinels which will finish on international gem markets, we saw a very busy industry turned to the local Vietnamese market producing gemstone paintings and carving: A great way to use the gems too small or those which quality is not good enough to be used on jewelry... Thanks to these paintings and carvings, the local miners can find a market for their production and thus get some regular income even the day they are not lucky to get a fine stone. Thanks to that they are mining day after day and thus the conditions for fine gems (like the following star ruby) to be find are present!
(A vietnamese dealer presenting a star ruby probably mined at Tan Huong, near Yen Bai.
Photo: V. Pardieu / GIA Laboratory Bangkok, 2009)
After that visit to the gem mines in the mountains of North Vietnam, I returned to Hanoi where I was joined few good friends to continue our expedition with a week end on the famous Ha Long Bay in order to visit a pearl farm producing Akoya type cultured pearls and rest a little.
(A view over the Akoya type cultured pearl farm we visited on Ha Long Bay.
Photo: V. Pardieu / GIA Laboratory Bangkok, 2009)
This second Field Expedition for GIA was again a success! It was also very nice to see again all my Vietnamese friends and to travel again in this beautiful country. All the best,
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Important Note: Vincent Pardieu is an employee of GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Laboratory Bangkok since Dec 2008. Any views expressed on this website - and in particular any views expressed by Vincent Pardieu - are the authors' opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of GIA or GIA Laboratory Bangkok. GIA takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content on this website nor is GIA liable for any mistakes or omissions you may encounter. GIA is in particular not screening, editing or monitoring the content on this website and has no possibility to remove, screen or edit any content.
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