Richard W. Hughes is one of the world’s foremost experts on ruby and sapphire. The author of many books and over 170 articles, his writings and photographs have appeared in a diverse range of publications, and he has received numerous industry awards. Co-winner of the 2004 Edward J. Gübelin Most Valuable Article Award from Gems & Gemology magazine, the following year he was awarded a Richard T. Liddicoat Journalism Award from the American Gem Society. In 2010, he received the Antonio C. Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology from the Accredited Gemologists Association. The Association Française de Gemmologie (AFG) in 2013 named Richard as one of the Fifty most important figures that have shaped the history of gems since antiquity. In 2016, Richard was awarded a visiting professorship at Shanghai’s Tongji University. 2017 saw the publication of Richard and his wife and daughter’s Ruby & Sapphire • A Gemologist’s Guide, arguably the most complete book ever published on a single gem species and the culmination of four decades of work in gemology. In 2018, Richard was named Photographer of the Year by the Gem-A, recognizing his photo of a jade-trading market in China, while in 2020, he was elected to the board of directors of the Accredited Gemologists Association and was appointed to the editorial review board of Gems & Gemology and The Australian Gemmologist magazine. In 2022, Richard published Jade • A Gemologist’s Guide, while 2024 brought Broken Bangle • The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature. He completed his jade trilogy in 2025 with an English translation of Heinrich Fischer’s 1875/1880 masterpiece, Nephrite and Jadeite. This was the first monograph ever written in a Western language on jade.

Gem-A, ICA, TGJMA

Editorial Review Board, Gems & Gemology
Editorial Review Board, The Australian Gemmologist

2005: Richard T. Liddicoat Journalism Award from the American Gem Society
2010: AGA Bonanno Award Recipient
2013: Association Française de Gemmologie (AFG) named Richard as one of the 50 greatest gemologists in history
2023: Jewellery News Asia named Richard to its “Extraordinary 40” list of influential members of the world gem and jewelry trade