2025 AGA Virtual Conference – Diamonds From Mine to Market

Stuart Robertson, GIA GG., is an award-winning gemologist and gemstone trend and pricing analyst. He is currently president of Gemworld International, Inc., a research and consulting firm that analyzes and reports diamond and colored stone market and price trends for the international gem trade. He is also the research director for the company’s publication GemGuide. Stuart is a member of the Association of Independent Jewellery Valuers and is a Senior Member of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers. Stuart is also the immediate past-president of the Accredited Gemologists Association as well as member of the Scottish Gemmological Association. Stuart is a recipient of the prestigious Antonio C. Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology (2011.) He received the AIJV Valuer of the Year Award in 2014 and The Scottish Gemmological Association’s Catriona Orr McInnes Award in 2019.

Amanda Hawkes, GG, is the Research Support Manager for GIA’s Cut Grade Research Team. She began her gemological career at AGS Laboratories in 2011, where she held a variety of diamond grading and leadership roles, including Laboratory Grading Manager, before joining GIA in 2022. In these positions, Amanda worked closely with R&D, IT, and operations teams to uphold laboratory quality standards and support the rollout of new products and services.

In her current role, Amanda supports GIA’s development of fancy-shape cut grade standards through diamond observation, R&D software testing, and cross-functional leadership. This work reflects her passion for understanding the appearance and patterning of diamonds and how these visual nuances influence individual preferences. She especially enjoys collaborating with fellow gemologists and diamond enthusiasts to explore these differences, exchange perspectives, and support others in growing their skills and appreciation for the artistry of diamond grading.

Dr. Jim Conant received his BA in mathematics from Rutgers University in 1995 and his PhD from UC San Diego in 2000. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Cornell, he joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he became a full professor in 2013, focusing on topology and geometry.

After returning to San Diego with his wife in 2017, Jim served as Campus Director at Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) and rediscovered his love of hands-on problem solving when consulting for AGS Labs in 2022. He created an algorithm to enumerate all possible diamond cuts, which was published in MATCH Commun. Math. Comput. Chem. Captivated by the opportunity to apply deep mathematical tools to real-world problems, he transitioned full-time and is now a Senior Research Mathematician at GIA, working remotely with the Las Vegas team while based in Carlsbad.

In addition to his work as a member of GIA’s cut research team, Jim also collaborates closely with data scientists and instrument researchers. He has co-authored a Gems & Gemology article on fancy-shaped diamonds and holds several provisional patents. He continues to teach advanced math classes at AoPS and mentors a postdoc, finding joy in both problem-solving and communicating the beauty of diamond cut. His current work bridges abstract mathematics, geometric modeling, ray tracing and real-world aesthetics.

Pamela is a proud alumna of the University of Regina, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography in 1991 and Bachelor of Science in Geology in 1994.

Pamela’s career in the mining industry has spanned more than 30 years beginning in remote field camps in Northern Canada first as a geology student then as an exploration geologist dur-ing the ‘NWT diamond rush’. She is currently the Principal Mineral Resource Manager for De Beers Group in Canada, based in Calgary, Alberta. She has held a variety of leadership roles in exploration and operations within the De Beers Group across Canada and South Africa including work in Australia, Brazil, Botswana, and India. Pamela was recognized as a WIM100 – ‘100 Glob-al inspirational Women in Mining’ by Women in Mining UK and has also been named a ‘Top 10 Influential Women in the Mining Sector’ by Mining Digital and a ‘Leading Women in Mining’ by EY and Women in Mining Canada.