This Database of Gemstone Inclusions Is Now Open to All
Bangkok lab Lotus Gemology compiled the photo database, which is free and available to anyone who needs it.

Hyperion, a searchable database, features more than 900 photomicrographs—photos of gemstone inclusions taken through a microscope—shot primarily by Lotus using a trinocular microscope, which has a third eyetube to connect a microscope camera.
The database is largely the result of the work of Billie Hughes, who opened Lotus Gemology in 2014 with her parents, Richard Hughes and Wimon Manorotkul.
Whereas her parents had decades of gemological experience, Billie Hughes had just received her gemology diploma from the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) and didn’t have a lot of practical testing experience at the time they opened their lab, she told National Jeweler in Tucson during the AGTA show.
“I found that a lot of what we learned in class was based on identifying gems, which is really important, but most of our customers already know what they have. Ninety-plus percent know if it’s a ruby or not a ruby. They’re looking for treatment, for origin, for color. They’re basically looking for all the things they need to sell it to somebody.”
Because she was seeing so much material and learning as she went, Hughes started taking photos of inclusions, hoping it would help her remember what came in front of her.
“I just thought, ‘Oh, I’ll take pictures of everything. It’s like taking notes.’”
She photographed inclusions she thought were interesting and saved them in the Adobe Bridge computer program, along with a brief description. After a few months, Hughes was able to search through them for reference.
She said her parents saw the inclusion database she was building and thought it should be made available to the industry since so many could benefit from what she had catalogued.
So, Lotus put the photomicrographs into the database it had already had set up to test stones and made it accessible online.
Now, Hyperion—named for the Greek god of light—is available as a free reference for anyone.
It currently is comprised predominantly of ruby, sapphire and spinel photos, Hughes said, because that’s what they’ve been testing for the past five years. But this year, Lotus will start testing other colored gemstones, so the database likely will expand.
Each picture is accompanied by a brief description of what’s pictured and characteristics of the photographed stone, such as enhancements and origin.
The database includes both natural and man-made stones to allow users to compare materials.
“I think a lot of the functionality of it is based on searches and comparisons. You can search by origin. You can search by treatment, like heated versus unheated. You can combine parameters. And you can search by keyword,” Hughes said.
For example, users can compare a heated ruby from Mozambique to an unheated ruby with the same origin or search using the keyword “silk,” which results in more than 100 images.
In fact, because Lotus Gemology believes some of the photos are even more powerful when seen side-by-side, the lab has compiled some pairings and posted them with notes on the Lotus website.
Concurrent with the launch of Hyperion, Lotus also has debuted Four Treasures, a free database containing more than 5,000 references intended to help with research relating to gems and gemology.
Built from the lab’s internal reference database it uses for research—from thousands of hours of work over nearly four decades—Four Treasures provides a search for books and papers about gemology from a variety of sources. It is particularly strong in citations relating to ruby, sapphire, spinel and jade.
“It is our way of giving back to those who have come before us, and going forward, providing tools to researchers who are working to push gemology ahead,” the lab said on its website.
The Latest

Located in Valenza, the now 355,000-square-foot facility includes a new jewelry school that’s open to the public, Scuola Bulgari.

Paola Sasplugas, co-founder of the Barcelona-based jewelry brand, received the Fine Jewelry Award.

A platinum Zenith-powered Daytona commissioned in the late ‘90s will headline Sotheby’s Important Watches sale in Geneva next month.

The risk of laboratory-grown diamonds being falsely presented as natural diamonds presents a very significant danger to consumer trust.

The basketball stars wear men’s jewelry from the “Curb Chain” collection.


The Signet Jewelers-owned retailer wants to encourage younger shoppers to wear fine jewelry every day, not just on special occasions.

The 21 pieces, all from a private collector, will be offered at its Magnificent Jewels auction next month.

Lilian Raji answers a question from a reader who is looking to grow her jewelry business but has a limited marketing budget.

The Indiana jeweler has acquired Scottsdale Fine Jewelers in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“Cartier: Design, Craft, and Legacy” opened earlier this month at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Van Cott Jewelers in Vestal, New York, is hosting a going-out-of-business sale.

Industry veteran Samantha Larson has held leadership roles at Borsheims, McTeigue & McClelland, Stuller, and Long’s Jewelers.
The two organizations will hold the educational event together this fall in Mississippi.

The entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” star will share his top tips for success.

The Ukrainian brand’s new pendant is modeled after a traditional paska, a pastry often baked for Easter in Eastern European cultures.

The jeweler has announced a grand reopening for its recently remodeled location in Peoria, Illinois.

The “Strong Like Mom” campaign features moms who work at Tiffany & Co. and their children.

Interior designer Athena Calderone looked to decor from the 1920s and 1930s when crafting her first fine jewelry collection.

During a call about its full-year results, CEO Efraim Grinberg discussed how the company is approaching the uncertainty surrounding tariffs.

The free program provides educational content for jewelry salespeople and enthusiasts to learn or refresh their diamond knowledge.

The feedback will be used to prepare other jewelers for the challenges ahead, the organization said.

The online sessions are designed to teach jewelers to use AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude to grow their business.

The opening marks the jewelry retailer’s first location in the Midwest.

The “United in Love” collection offers tangible mementos of hearts entwined with traditional and non-traditional commitment heirlooms.

Robert Goodman Jewelers will hold a “Black Jewelry Designers and Makers” event on April 27.

The announcements follow a tumultuous start to 2025 for WJA, which saw a wave of resignations following controversial statements about DEI.