History of Gemology. Part 1

For a long time, during which humanity dealt with precious stones, gemology was not singled out as a single science. Its individual sections were studied by jewelers, from the point of view of processing technologies and the use of precious stones, by traders and appraisers from the point of view of jewelry material science, assessment of the geographical distribution of sources of extraction, and later by mineralogists from the point of view of chemical and physical properties (mineralogical material science), mineralogical systematics and geology of deposits. And only at the beginning of the 20th century was the first (and successful) attempt made to formalize the entire complex of knowledge about precious stones into an independent science - gemology. By this time, the first synthetic emeralds and rubies had already been obtained, experiments were conducted with the cultivation of pearls, not to mention the production of numerous imitations of colored stones. In addition, the acquisition of jewelry ceased to be the prerogative of the elite and went to the masses, and accordingly, the production of jewelry also grew. With the development of chemistry and physics, the possibilities of research methods (including non-destructive ones) in mineralogy are expanding. Optical microscopes with polarization devices, dichroscopes, polariscopes, conoscopes have already come into practice, methods for determining specific gravity by hydrostatic weighing and comparative weighing in heavy liquids were widely used. In 1905, the London firm of James Henry Steward*, which was engaged in the development and production of optical instruments, began producing the first compact refractometer (a device for determining the refractive index) for jewelry stones. (*James Henry Steward, before founding a company for the production of optical instruments, was a jeweler). Compact (since 1907) industrial spectroscopes began to be used for research in mineralogy.

In 1908 (July 6), Samuel Barnett, a jeweler from Peterborough (Cambridgeshire, England), proposed organizing diploma courses in gemology for the needs of jewelry companies. His idea found support in professional circles and already in 1913 the first final qualifying exams were held. Thus, in England, July 6 is considered the day when gemology began to form as an independent science.