Day to Celebrate Jade at GIA
GIA is inviting consumers, collectors, and retailers to explore the world of jade at its fifth annual Sinkankas Symposium at the GIA Campus in Carlsbad, California on Saturday, April 21, 2007. For most people, jade evokes an image of brilliant green but this translucent gem also comes in many other colors including white, orange, and lavender. Because of its beauty and durability, jade, which includes the minerals jadeite and nephrite, has been treasured around the world for centuries. The Sinkankas Symposium is co-hosted by the San Diego Mineral & Gem Society. Named in honor of the renowned gemologist, author, and lapidary John Sinkankas, the event devotes a full day of discussions, lectures, and demonstrations to one gem, led by an impressive list of experts in a wide variety of fields. More than five different local gem and mineral clubs, from Los Angeles to Fallbrook, plan to attend.
Topics this year will range from types of jade, new discoveries, photography, carving, appraising and many other issues. Many jade pieces will also be on display at the event. Speakers include Fred Ward, National Geographic author and photographer, on Jades of the World; Si Frazier, author, on Nomenclature of Jade; Don Kay of Mason Kay Importers on Burmese Jadeite Jewelry; John Koivula, GIA gemstone inclusion expert on the Microworld of Jade; Richard Hughes, author and gem authority, on Burmese Jade Deposits; Mary Lou Ridinger, Guatemalan jade expert on the Current Guatemalan Jade Market; and George Rossman, professor and mineralogist at California Institute of Technology on the causes of Color in Jade. Admission is $75, which includes lunch. Tickets are available until April 14 by emailing annes@san.rr.com. For more information on Jade, visit the Friends of Jade website.