This is my first on this forum. Nice to meet you all.
I ask this question because the last post on AIGS is 2 years old.
Is it still worth to go to Thailand and do AG/GM course there? I imagine that just being in Bangkok is priceless, but the course itself? It is still that good?
Second question I read the AIGS website and I am still not sure what is the difference between AG and GM courses. For AG there are 4 courses and in total they take 6 months. What about the rest 5 months? What exactly do you study? I couldn't find that.
I have been thinking of taking a gemology course and I'm still not sure what to do. I can do now Gem-A course online (Foundation for the moment) or go to Thailand but that would be possible probably next (2018) year. Or maybe first Gem-A and then AIGS but the latter is still a bit expensive for me.
If you could give me an advise, I would be really grateful! Thank you
The basic principles for identifying different types gemstones are the same. You check the physical and optical properties of the crystal to determine what type the stone is. Then you go further and "look" inside the stones to see what the inside reveals which would tell you whether the stone is natural or synthetic, the enhancement it has gone through and at the advance level, to have a good guess at the origin of stones.
I believe the basic teaching is the same everywhere. But what make AIGS great is the fact that it has so much real teaching materials which you can actually get your hands on during classes. I really don't know about other schools, but AIGS provided me with more than enough teaching samples when I studied there 10 years ago. Besides if you just walk out of AIGS teaching room, you are essentially in the center of the gems district in Bangkok. You really could not ask for more.
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 4:08 pm Posts: 381 Location: Lyon, France
I did a gia GG in bangkok and now I work at AIGS and I think AIGS is a great school. You get many field trips and like someone said, you walk out of class and you are in the middle of the jewelry trade center building. The cost is very affordable compared to other schools like FGA and GIA. The AG program is what you want. It has 4 classes. Comparable to a GG from GIA. Many people say that AIGS has a better colored stones program and GIA has a better diamonds program. One thing I think is smart with their classes is you can just do morning classes and have the afternoon free to do gem browsing. Gia is all day classes so when you get out of class the gem markets are mostly closed so you never get to have time to look.
Being in Bangkok is definitely worth it and cost of living is so affordable. If you're thinking of Gem-A and London then definitely consider Bangkok. Also once you're here it's so easy to get to other important gem places like Mogok, Chanthaburi, Pailin, Luk Yen, etc. usually one quick flight and bus will get you some place cool.
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