Does anyone have a sample GI Student Worksheet that is filled out? I need to see a sample of how to correctly complete this. I'm a little confused, for example as to where to note "Saturation" for a stone. This is the first stone in the first stone set and I just need a little clarification so I can get started. I don't want to start filling the thing out and then discover that its not filled out correctly.
Post subject: Re: GIA Gem Identification Worksheet
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:11 pm
Established Member
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 8:24 am Posts: 25 Location: Kensington, MD & Paris, France
I just completed the gem id course and the 20-stone final. Saturation isn't a required characteristic for your stones, although it might be helpful in some cases. A ruby, for example, could have vivid saturation or it could be very brownish. Either way, it's gemologically still a ruby! The only general observation characteristic for color is the hue (blue, purplish-red, etc.) and the tone (dark, medium-light, etc.) You can note that using the abbreviations provided in your course materials (dk, md, l, vl, etc.) or you can use the notation you learned in the colored stone grading lab (B 5/6). The latter approach it technically overkill, but it might be helpful to you as you solidify your color knowledge. For the 20-stone, I chose to eliminate all extraneous elements and note only the hue and tone on the worksheet.
Post subject: Re: GIA Gem Identification Worksheet
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 12:04 pm
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type
Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2011 1:37 pm Posts: 2
That was very helpful, thanks! I haven't been to a lab class as of yet, but I am starting to feel like I should have done that first. It's hard to know if you are actually doing this right when you are trying to follow written instructions. I keep going back and forth between the texts and the lab manual for Distance Learning students and I keep feeling like there has to be a better, more organized way to approached this whole course.
Post subject: Re: GIA Gem Identification Worksheet
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 9:39 pm
Established Member
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 8:24 am Posts: 25 Location: Kensington, MD & Paris, France
I think GIA does a real disservice to students by not being more specific in the timing it recommends for courses. I took the ID lab after I had finished the first 12 or 13 assignments in the ID course, but before I had been sent more than a few boxes. It was ideal timing. Others in the class hadn't completed any of the assignments, and they were completely as sea when it came to learning how to use the instruments. It was a waste of very valuable time for them, IMHO. I had the advantage of already understanding how the equipment was used, and focused more on refining my investigative technique and isolating specific shortcomings.
I took the Diamond Grading course after I completed the lab. I did very well in the lab, but found the coursework to be horrendously boring after the lab. In retrospect, I'd complete all the diamond assignments related to history, mining, geological formation, marketing, etc. and then take the lab before completing the grading assignments.
Stick with it. There's a huge amount of information to learn, but its all organized fairly well. You'll feel pleased when you've successfully finished it all.
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