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BrankoGems To Hold Conference in Montana
The event, set for June 13-15, will feature educational presentations and guided visits to the state’s sapphire mines.
Consulting company BrankoGems/Gemmological Research Industries Inc. will hold its first International Conference in the United States in June.
New York—Consulting company BrankoGems/Gemmological Research Industries Inc. has announced a conference with the theme of “Exploring American Gems” to take place in Helena, Montana this summer.
The event will be held June 13 to 15 at the Delta Hotels Helena Colonial.
It will include presentations and workshops, as well as guided sapphire mine visits to the Yogo, Missouri River, and Rock Creek Sapphire Mines and Yellowstone National Park.
The trips, limited to 30 participants, will be offered before and after the conference.
Expert discussion topics include sapphires from Montana and turquoise grading, as well as the challenges of identifying natural and synthetic and treated gemstones.
Warren Boyd of Potentate Mining will present “Rock Creek Sapphire Mine,” gemologist and consultant Dr. Lore Kiefert will discuss “Origin Determination of Sapphires,” and turquoise expert Joe Dan Lowry will present “Turquoise 101.”
The conference workshops will also feature over 200 samples, and presenters will explore solutions to identification challenges through demonstrating techniques utilizing standard and portable advanced gemological instruments.
Dr. Kiefert will lead the workshop “Treatment and Origin Determination of Sapphires;” Lowry will lead “Turquoise Grading;” and Branko Deljanin, president and head gemologist at CGL Canadian Gemlab and director of Gemmological Research Industries, will lead “ID of LGD.”
A round table featuring seven international experts and moderated by Travis Lejman, gemologist and conference co-chair, will discuss “Sapphire Origins” and “LGD Versus Natural Diamonds.”
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The event will be held June 13 to 15 at the Delta Hotels Helena Colonial.
It will include presentations and workshops, as well as guided sapphire mine visits to the Yogo, Missouri River, and Rock Creek Sapphire Mines and Yellowstone National Park.
The trips, limited to 30 participants, will be offered before and after the conference.
Expert discussion topics include sapphires from Montana and turquoise grading, as well as the challenges of identifying natural and synthetic and treated gemstones.
Warren Boyd of Potentate Mining will present “Rock Creek Sapphire Mine,” gemologist and consultant Dr. Lore Kiefert will discuss “Origin Determination of Sapphires,” and turquoise expert Joe Dan Lowry will present “Turquoise 101.”
The conference workshops will also feature over 200 samples, and presenters will explore solutions to identification challenges through demonstrating techniques utilizing standard and portable advanced gemological instruments.
Dr. Kiefert will lead the workshop “Treatment and Origin Determination of Sapphires;” Lowry will lead “Turquoise Grading;” and Branko Deljanin, president and head gemologist at CGL Canadian Gemlab and director of Gemmological Research Industries, will lead “ID of LGD.”
A round table featuring seven international experts and moderated by Travis Lejman, gemologist and conference co-chair, will discuss “Sapphire Origins” and “LGD Versus Natural Diamonds.”
In addition, some presentations will further explore portable instruments for identifying gems and synthetic diamonds, as well as artificial intelligence (AI).
Randall Lightfoot of Mayflower Estate Buyers and Consulting will lead “Gem Secrets: The Importance of Inclusions & CPF” and Guy Borenstein, senior gemologist at Stuller will present “Screening Instruments for Laboratory-Grown Diamonds.”
Also, Sharrie Woodring, senior gemologist at GCAL, will lead “An Update from GCAL by Sarine Lab: Diamond Traceability, AI-Driven Grading, and Market Dynamics” and Deljanin will speak on “How India’s CVD Boom in Production, Treatments, and Cutting is Reshaping Diamond Mining and Gemological Testing Worldwide.”
The upcoming event will be BrankoGems’ first International Conference in the United States.
The company has held seven Mediterranean Gem and Jewellery Conferences since 2015, as well as an International Conference in Australia in 2023.
Its conferences are designed to offer a unique “tech-trade platform,” said the company, with practical workshops for gemologists, appraisers, and other industry professionals.
For more information on speakers, lectures, tours, the venue, and registration visit the event website.
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