The Antonio C. Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology
Richard W. Hughes Receives the 2010 Antonio Bonanno Award
The Accredited Gemologists Association (AGA) is pleased to announce that Richard W. Hughes has been awarded the 2010 Antonio C. Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology.
A native of the United States, Richard Hughes has spent many years in Asia, where his interest in precious stones was first kindled. Today he is Senior Vice President of Gemstone Acquisition & Marketing at NCS Group in Bangkok.
His career spans thirty years and is somewhat unusual in that he has been involved not only with academic and laboratory gemology, but also on the wholesale business side.
Traveling to scores of countries in search of precious stones, Richard Hughes has authored two books and more than a hundred articles on all aspects of gemology and the gem and jewelry trades. Richard’s "Ruby & Sapphire" is considered the standard work on the subject. His writings on the challenges posed to the gem industry by undisclosed gemstone treatments would prove prophetic. Richard’s appreciation and understanding of people, regardless of their lot in life, often earned him access to observe the interesting cultures and histories associated with some of the most important gem producing areas of the world.
This award was created to recognize people who have made significant contributions to the gemological field. This year’s award recognizes Richard’s efforts in successfully advancing the profile of many gems and the countries that produce them through his travelogues, as well as more scientific writings and the generous sharing of this information through trade journals and his website www.ruby-sapphire.com. The award—which includes a check for $2,000—not only calls attention to the outstanding contributions of the recipient, but underscores the responsibility of the international gemological community to encourage and reward ongoing research, education and dissemination of information.
The Bonanno Award will be presented at AGA’s Gala Dinner Dance at the conclusion of its Tucson Conference, on Wednesday, February 3, 2010, from 7:00 – 11:00 PM, at the Marriott University Park Hotel. Sponsorships to support the work of the AGA and the Bonanno Award Gala Dinner are available at $2,000 per table (for 10). For more information about the conference or gala, or to register now, click here or contact AGA.
2009 - Christopher P. Smith
Chris Smith began his gemological career in 1986 when he joined the GIA Laboratory, then in Los Angeles, CA. He started as a diamond grader, but shortly moved over to the gem identification department where he worked with such notable gemologists as Shane McClure, Bob Kane, Chuck Fryer, Emmanuel Fritsch and others.
In 1991, the Gübelin Laboratory of Luzern, Switzerland hired Chris and moved he and his young family to Switzerland. He worked with the Gübelin Laboratory for nearly 12 years and eventually became Director of the Lab. During his tenure at Gübelin, he oversaw operations, developed key new services, expanded the scope of Gübelin’s operations globally and pioneered research into several areas of gemology, including the further development and refinement of country of origin criterion for rubies, sapphires, emeralds, alexandrites, etc. Including the characterization of ruby and sapphire from a number of newly discovered deposits, such as Mong Hsu ruby, sapphires from Vietnam, rubies and sapphires from Nepal and rubies from Tajikistan, as well as others. As part of his research activities, he has visited a number of gem mines, including Mogok, Sri Lanka, the Ural mountains in Russia, Australia, Thailand, etc. While focusing a great deal of his efforts on the determinations for country of origin, he has also worked extensively on the distinction between non-treated and treated gems, including a variety of heating techniques for corundum and HPHT treatment of diamonds, as well as others. Other focuses include the origin of color and its identification in rubies and sapphires, diamond, coral and other materials plus the identification of and distinction between natural and synthetic gems and the further development of analytical techniques and their applications in gemology.
In 2003, Chris returned to the GIA Laboratory, this time in New York and was the Director of Identification Services there, involved with the development of colored stone services and research. Recently, in December of 2006, Chris joined the AGL as Vice President and Chief Gemologist to spear-head together with C.R. "Cap" Beesley the growth and development of their colored stone services.
Chris has published and lectured extensively on these various topics. He is a past recipient of the Most Valuable article award in Gems & Gemology. In 2007 he received the prestigious Richard T. Liddicoat award from the American Gemological Society and he was a founding member of the Laboratory Manual Harmonization Committee (LMHC).
2008 - Dr. James Shigley
Dr. Shigley, a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Gemological Institute of America, is the author of many articles on diamonds and other gemstones, and a well-known speaker on gemological topics to both professional and general audiences. Dr. Shigley helps direct GIA’s research activities on the identification of natural, synthetic, and treated diamonds, colored stones and pearls. In his current position as Distinguished Research Fellow, he continues to advance GIA's gem research program to support the jewelry trade to meet the challenges of gem identification. Last summer marked his 25th anniversary with the Institute.
The award ceremony was held in conjunction with the AGA Tucson Gala Dinner Dance on February 6, 2008.
Also nominated for this award were Peter Yantzer, Donald Palmieri, and Ted Themelis.
Shane McClure - 2007
After earning his Graduate Gemologist diploma in 1978 at the Santa Monica campus, Shane McClure accepted an entry-level position at the GIA Gem Trade Laboratory in downtown Los Angeles. Some 28 years later he is still with the GIA Laboratory, now located in Carlsbad, California, where he manages both gem identification activities and numerous research projects as Director of West Coast Identification Services.
McClure is an accomplished writer and photographer. Among his journalistic achievements, he has won the Gems & Gemology award for most valuable article seven times, an award that is voted on by the readership of that journal.
Also nominated for this award were Thomas Tashey, Kurt Nassau, & Donald Palmieri.
Richard Drucker - 2006
Richard Drucker is the president of Gemworld International, Inc. in Glenview, Illinois. As a third generation jeweler, he entered the business in 1979. In 1982, he began a pricing publication now known as the GemGuide. The GemGuide is used in more than 20 countries. Drucker now serves as publisher, appraiser, consultant, lecturer, and author. In 1993, Mr. Drucker was elected as the first Chairman of the Gemological Institute of America Alumni & Associates International Board of Governors. He continued as Chair of the Alumni Executive Council through 2000 and received an Alumni Leadership Award for exemplary service in this role.
In 2002 Drucker became the owner and licensing distributor for GemGuide Appraisal Software, a sophisticated program used by more than 1,000 jewelry appraisers.
Mr. Drucker has lectured for many organizations throughout the world. He has been an integral part of many court cases including work for the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Postal Inspector, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Customs Service. He has published six industry trade books.
Richard was nominated for his dedication to broadening knowledge—through his publications and through the creation of a data communication system that has made information on gemstone sources, availability, and pricing readily accessible—and for his leadership on important issues regarding valuation science, gemstone treatment, and diamond cut grading.
Also nominated for this award were Michael Cowing, Branko Deljanin, William Hanneman, Ted Themelis, & Peter Yantzer.
Alan Jobbins & Antoinette Matlins - 2005
Antoinette Matlins, PG, is a well-known author of many books on gems and jewelry and a leading educator both within the trade and to the public.
Initially pursuing a career in primary remedial education and subsequently moving into the advertising field in New York City, gemology remained only a hobby until the early 1980s. Angered by misinformation that had been appearing in various investment magazines for several years regarding diamonds, gemstones and gem investment, Matlins decided there was a real need for a book to protect consumers; in 1984 this book was published, written by Matlins, with Antonio Bonanno as co-author.
She was Gemology Editor for National Jeweler magazine for almost a decade during the mid-1980s and 1990s, and her work on consumer-related issues soon established her as a dedicated consumer advocate. The Accredited Gemologists Association’s nationwide campaign against gemstone investment telemarketing scams was spearheaded by Matlins, and she is often seen on television segments on ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN educating consumers and exposing fraud and misrepresentation.
Through her books, articles, lectures and media appearances, she has played an important role in bringing information to the public’s attention regarding the routine use of gemstone treatments and in focusing the trade on the need for disclosure. In the educational arena, applying her father’s unique approach to gemology, Matlins developed an innovative, practical course focused at people in the trade without an interest in gemology. Her goal was to give people without any science or technical background the skills they needed to reduce risk and to gain greater confidence in buying and selling gems.
Her unique approach has taken her as an educator not only to major gem shows and conferences, but to such places as the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan where she spent a month sharing her techniques with illiterate miners. It is estimated that she has personally taught several thousand people, many of whom have gone on to pursue the study of gemology and to obtain gemological diplomas.
E. Alan Jobbins, BSc, Ceng, FIMM, FGA, started his geological/gemological journey at the age of thirteen when he was shown superb crystal specimens of mimetite(campylite) from Cumberland by his geography master which led to geological studies and his appointment as Curator of Minerals and Gemstones at the Geological Museum in London, where he was responsible for the extensive gemstone exhibitions.
Over a span of more than 30 years there, he conducted many important research projects, including a major study of East African garnets, the first papers characterizing the structure and identification of synthetic opals, the discovery of a new mineral (magnesio-axinite), and the field study of the Barwell meteorite fall.
His work has taken him on many assignment for the United Nations and the British Government, where he carried out geological surveys and methods of exploitation of a series of gem deposits in many countries. Some of his more notable international work included setting up a gemological laboratory in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) and training the country's first gemologists to FGA graduation, with some students proceeding to PhD’s at English universities; he led a major study of Pailin ruby and sapphire deposits in Cambodia, resulting in important recommendations for improved working methods; an assessment of diamond and opal deposits in Piaui State, Brazil; and a survey of the Sri Lankan gemstone industry to improve mining methods and cutting techniques.
In 1988 he turned his focus to China where he initiated gemological training - with new laboratory facilities - at the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan. In the UK, his record includes 32 years as a gemological lecturer at the Sir John Cass College (now London Metropolitan University), 20 years as an examiner for the Gemmological Association of Great Britain gemmology examinations, and eight years as Editor of the Journal of Gemmology. But his most sparkling assignment was being a member of the team that conducted the first comprehensive gemological examination of the English Crown Jewels from 1986-1989 which led to the publication of a major illustrated catalogue.
He has ‘collected’ various posts over the years including being an Executive member of the International Gemmological Conference and is a Past President of the Society of Jewellery Historians and of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (now Gem-A). He is a Founding Organizer of the International Gemstone Association.
Also nominated for the 2005 award were Branko Deljanin, Laboratory Director of EGL-USA/Canada (USA/Canada); Richard Drucker, President of Gemworld Publishing and Gemworld International Laboratories (USA); Donald Palmieri, Founder and President of Gem Certification & Appraisal Lab (USA); and Thomas Tashey, Founder and Director of Professional Gem Sciences Laboratory (USA).
Dr. Henry A. Hanni - 2004
Dr. Henry A. Hanni, began his gemological career in 1976 when he became a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (FGA). In 1980 he obtained his doctorate, his thesis having been on beryl from the Swiss Alps. In the same year he joined the scientific staff at SSEF, the Swiss Gemmological Institute, of which he became director in 1990. In 1996, Dr. Hanni joined the faculty of Basel University as a professor of Gemmology.
Over the course of the past 30 years, Dr. Hanni has become recognized as one of the leading researchers and educators in the gemological field. He has written over 50 papers on gemstones, analytical techniques, and detection of treatments, in English, German, and French, and maintains a rigorous schedule lecturing and giving courses worldwide.
Under Dr. Hanni's leadership, SSEF has become an important gemological laboratory focusing on research, disclosure, and establishing higher standards for the field. SSEF is at the forefront of gemological research, and its pearl and gemstone reports are now among the most highly respected internationally. Dr Hanni has also helped to build SSEF into an important training center for gemology, attracting students not only from Europe, but worldwide, and is responsible for the SSEF journal, FACETTE, which provides important contributions to the gemological literature.
When asked about his work in the field, Hanni replied that he believed his major contributions were in three areas: teaching "scientific instrumental gemology," pearl research, and his extensive work in treatment identification-especially glass in ruby and organic substances in emerald-and in addressing how treatment information should be handled in laboratory documents. The SSEF publication, "Standards and Applications" was one of the first straightforward and thorough works on how gemstone treatments should be handled on reports and has served as a model for standards put into effect by many laboratories worldwide.
Also nominated for this year’s international award were Allan Jobbins, FGA, a Director of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A), Branko Deljanin, EGL-USA’s Director of Canadian operations, Kenneth Scarratt, FGA, Director of the American Gem Trade Association’s Gemological Testing Center in New York, and William Hanneman, of Hanneman Gemological Instruments. Each of the finalists received a Medallion of Honor in recognition of their accomplishments.
G. Robert Crowningshield - 2003
G. Robert Crowningshield’s life-long passion for the field began while a young man in the navy, looking for stones in “ Ceylon” ( Sri Lanka) where he was told about the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) by a jeweler there. Upon completing his navy tour, he enrolled at the GIA to study gemology, following which he was recruited as an instructor by GIA founder, Robert Shipley. In 1949, Crowningshield was appointed Vice President of GIA’s new Gem Trade Laboratory in New York City, which became his home for most of his illustrious career. His contributions include many “firsts”: the first report on dyed jadeite; the first to apply spectroscopic techniques to separate natural fancy-color diamonds from treated; the first gemological study of gem-quality GE synthetic diamonds.
“It is with special pleasure that we present this award to Bob,” explains Antoinette Matlins, one of Bonanno's gemologist-daughters, “because of the wonderful relationship he shared with Dad and the great mutual respect they felt for one another. And like our father, after more than 50 years in the field, Bob retains his passion and dedication to the field. He has touched the lives of thousands of gemologists, conducted research that has had a major impact on our understanding of diamonds and colored gemstones, and truly shaped the field of gemology as we know it today.”
Also nominated for this year’s award were Alan Jobbins, FGA, of Great Britain, and Robert Weldon, GG, of the United States. Jobbins and Weldon each received a Medallion of Honor. Jobbins, a Director of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, was nominated for his extensive activity in the research arena, his global educational activities, and his work in establishing gem-testing laboratories and gemological curricula at universities in remote lands. Weldon, now Senior Editor at Professional Jeweler magazine, was nominated for excellence in gemological journalism and his exceptional photographic contributions to the gemological archives, in both macro- and micro-photography.
Update
Mr. Crowningshield, a pioneer in gemology, the scientific study of gemstones, and mentor to thousands of jewelers and gemologists, passed away on November 8, 2006 at age 87.
John I Koivula - 2002
John Koivula has spent forty-eight years studying and photographing the microworld of gemstones. He has published more than 800 articles and notes on gemstone inclusions and related topics, and is a contributor to several books including the American Geological Institutes Glossary of Geology, Robert Webster’s Gems, and the GIA’s Diamond Dictionary. Mr. Koivula co-authored with Dr. E. Gübelin the Photoatlas of Inclusions in Gemstones series, Volumes 1, 2 and 3, co-authored the recent release, Geologica, Earth’s Dynamic Forces, a pictorial study of crustal landforms, and is the author of The MicroWorld of Diamonds.His photomicrographs have graced the covers of numerous publications and he is the author of the longest running continuous series in gemological literature, A PhotoLexicon of Inclusion-Related Terms for Today’s Gemmologist for The Canadian Gemmologist.
John holds university degrees in mineralogy-geology and chemistry, the gemological credentials: G.G., C.G., F.G.A., was awarded Fellowship in the Royal Microscopical Society, and also serves on the executive board of the International Gemmological Conference group (IGC). He is an honorary life member of the Finnish Gemmological Society and the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, and was named as one of the 64 most influential people of the 20th century in the jewelry industry by Jewelers’ Circular Keystone Magazine.
His awards include the Robert M. Shipley and Richard T. Liddicoat awards from the American Gem Society, the Scholarship Foundation Award from the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies, and now the Antonio C. Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology by the international Accredited Gemologists Association. John previously worked for Cominco American as an exploration field geologist, and has been with the Gemological Institute of America for more than 30 years. He is currently the Chief Gemologist with the GIA’s research department and laboratory in Carlsbad, California.
Nominated for the 2002 award were Martin Haske, Gary Roskin, Jeffrey Post, and Robert Crowningshield.
C. R. "Cap" Beesley - 2001
C.R. "Cap" Beesley founded the American Gemological Laboratories in New York City, an international gemstone testing facility, and Gemcore, a nonprofit research and education organization that sponsors events to provide up to the minute information about gem and mineral related issues for gemstone professionals.
He is also Director of Research for the Gemstone Standards Commission, an organization whose advisory board includes representatives from international auction houses, prominent retail jewelry firms, and faculty from universities and technical facilities.
"His work has been a primary force in bringing about universal changes in disclosure policies," said Antoinette Matlins. "Although his positions have not always been popular, and his assertions often challenged, he exemplifies what it means to take a stand on an important issue, and to persevere for what you believe." According to Matlins, Beesley's work has resulted in changes in the entire treatment arena, including laboratory certification, and his work has benefited the entire gem and jewelry industry, creating a more honest and forthright environment. "This was what my father strove for his entire life, and the reason he worked so hard in helping to build the AGA, and programs like the AGA's Master Gemologist Appraiser (which was subsequently taken over by the American Society of Appraisers).
Gemologists Karen (Bonanno) DeHaas, FGA, and Kathryn Bonanno-Patrizzi, FGA, agree with their sister. "He almost single-handedly made gemstone treatment disclosure a top priority among leading auction houses," says Patrizzi. Beesley’s efforts resulted in the implementation of disclosure policies by Sotheby’s and Christies as well, and his positions have influenced the direction of industry trade organizations and retailers worldwide. "Beesley’s work exemplifies what it means to be committed to research, education, and high personal and professional integrity," sums up DeHaas, "And that is what this award is all about."
Also nominated for the 2001 award were internationally prominent gemologists Dr. Henry Hanni of SSEF laboratory in Basel, Switzerland, and John I. Koivula of the Gemological Institute of America.
Alan Hodgkinson - 2000
Alan Hodgkinson, FGA, is the first recipient of the Antonio Bonanno Award. Alan is the developer of Hodgkinson's Visual Optics. Currently President of the Eastwood Chamber of Trade and Commerce, he is working on a book entitled "Diamond & Gemstones - A Practical Identification Manual."
He was acknowledged for his 20 plus years of involvement in the industry, the establishment of his highly acclaimed two-day Practical Gem Identification Course and his reputation as a worldwide lecturer.
Also nominated for the 2000 award were C. R. "Cap" Beesley of the American Gemological Laboratories in New York City and Dr. Henry A. Hanni, Director of SSEF, the Swiss Gemmological Institute.