It was a banner day for blue gemstones, with another blue diamond topping $8 million and a 41-carat sapphire going for $2.3 million.
GIA Scholarship Deadline Approaching
The application period for the 125 scholarships currently being offered by the Gemological Institute of America will close this Saturday, April 30.

Carlsbad, Calif.--The deadline is nearing for students to apply to one of the Gemological Institute of America’s more than 125 scholarships.
There are opportunities available for scholarships with the lab’s gemology and jewelry manufacturing arts programs, courses and lab classes, but the cutoff to apply is Saturday, April 30.
Scholarships are available for distance education e-learning courses and for classes at the GIA’s campuses in Bangkok, Carlsbad, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, New York, Mumbai and Taiwan.
Applicants will be considered for all available awards, ranging from $500 to as much as $22,000, for on-campus and e-learning courses, programs or lab classes.
Directions on how to apply online are available on GIA.edu.
Scholarship highlights for 2016 include:
--Two scholarships will be offered in honor of Eunice Miles, GIA’s first female gemologist and the “Grande Dame of Gemology.” One full scholarship is for the on-campus Graduate Gemologist program and another toward the Distance Education GG program;
--The 2016 Tawfic Farah Memorial Scholarship will award full tuition for an on-campus student in Taiwan to pursue their GG;
--Kara Ross, Tiffany & Co. and William Goldberg Diamond Co. will each offer a $10,000 scholarship toward a gemology course or program.
--Kazanjian will award two $10,000 scholarships for any gemology course or program, with preference given to extremely high-need applicants with no family members in the industry.
For more information, visit GIA.edu/scholarships, call 760-603-4131 or email scholarship@gia.edu.
Since 2013, GIA has awarded more than $3.5 million in scholarships to nearly 1,000 students. The GIA endowment fund and several private donors fund them.
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