I got my formal colored stones education in Russia. I have a Russian gemological diploma.
Now I am in Canada and I need some kind of diploma in English to show customers for the purpose of issuing certificates for the stones I sell and for indenting and grading of customers stones as an additional service. The education with GIA will take me few years because it's very expensive. I already have skills and knowledge, and I could easily pass an IGS exam.
I want to offer gemstones grading and identification services, jewelry appraisal services and jewelry insurance services.
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm Posts: 21602 Location: San Francisco
Frankly not. While IGS offers a valid program, the industry really only recognizes GIA and GemA. The Russian diploma is worth more, in my opinion. Russian education is superlative. Can you ask the institution which generated the diploma to generate it again in English?
And, when you feel solid enough financially to add more letters after your name, I'd actually suggest enrolling in GIA. Their new correspondence course is excellent.
Sidebar......if one pays for education, they should expect to be educated. Not simply pass a final exam without having to read the course material. Right?
You are right, Barbra, but I have seen what you are mentioning. It was not in gemology, though. As education is very commercial these days, there is a pressure on passing as many students as possible.
From my experience here in Australia a gemology degree is only useful if coupled with a valuer diploma. At gem shows customers buy from anybody. When you join a lapidary club, then fellow members recommend trustworthy dealers. On 18 April my club will host one, so that we can buy cutting material of good quality as a good price.
People who do not trust dealers, go to jewellers, so they can get protection from the relevant government organization.
I have asked the local gemology society if they can issue us a certificate of attendance to their introductory course we attended in October. They are happy to do so. My wife wants to use it to prove her competency when selling gemstones. I will file mine in the relevant folder in my filing cabinet.
I'm thinking about doing the GAA-GEMA course here in Australia . A quick search for jobs makes things look daunting if that is what I was looking for . Not sure it's worth the money , yet have no tertiary education so thought might be a good idea . Is it much more time / money to get the appraiser diploma? I read that in Australia you don't need anything to open a jewellery store , sell stones and appraise them , worrying i guess .
If your institution in Russia can't re-issue your certificate in English, you could also look into getting a certified translation of it in Canada, so that you could display both (the original and the translation). I have seen several people moving internationally do this for potential employers, and it seems to work well. That way, you wouldn't have to pay again for education that you've already had!
I'm thinking about doing the GAA-GEMA course here in Australia . A quick search for jobs makes things look daunting if that is what I was looking for . Not sure it's worth the money , yet have no tertiary education so thought might be a good idea . Is it much more time / money to get the appraiser diploma? I read that in Australia you don't need anything to open a jewellery store , sell stones and appraise them , worrying i guess .
The GAA courses are expensive for the use of them. To be able to value gemstones for insurance, etc purposes, you need a valuer's course which you need to take after the GAA course. You cannot officially appraise a stone in writing in Australia unless you are properly qualified. An insurance company would not take your assessment as part of an insurance policy unless you have dual qualifications (GAA plus NCJV diploma). You can contact the through their website http://www.ncjv.com.au/ . I could not find costs and duration of their course.
Getting a licence for a jewelry store is like applying for any retail licence. Most jewelers and their employees know very little about gemstones. This is why they stick to the most common gemstones like diamond, ruby, emerald, etc and their synthetic equivalents. In my experience only one in ten jewelries here in Brisbane will deal with coloured stones like tourmaline, spinel, etc and other non-birthstones.
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