Quick Hello + Advice Needed - New to the Gem Industry

Gem Related Discussion
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Hello everyone,

Sarah here. It’s lovely to e-meet you all.

A little introduction from me. I’m a jewellery designer based in Malta and I run my own bridal jewellery brand. I started around 15 years ago and learned much of what I do along the way, working mainly with brass, silver, Swarovski crystals and pearls.

Gemstones and diamonds have fascinated me since I was young, but for some reason I never pursued gemology properly until more recently. I do wish I had started sooner!

I completed the GIA Applied Jewelry Professional diploma and also took an introductory course with Gem-A, and that really confirmed that I wanted to go further with it. I’m now studying gemology through IGS at my own pace, alongside running my business, and trying to read and learn as much as I can.

Because I already work so closely with brides, my long term plan is to gradually move into fine jewellery too, particularly 18K pieces using carefully sourced coloured gemstones and diamonds.

I would have loved to pursue the GIA Graduate Gemologist programme, but at the moment the cost and travel involved make it difficult. I run my business and shop on my own, so spending long periods abroad isn’t particularly realistic either.

One thing I’m especially curious about is the industry itself beyond the studying.

How did those of you working in gemology, gemstones or fine jewellery start building your network? Were there particular trade shows, organisations, dealers, labs, courses or communities that helped you meet people and learn who you could trust?

I’m also interested in how people begin building relationships with reputable gemstone suppliers when they’re still relatively new to this side of the trade. I know so much of the industry seems to come down to knowledge, reputation and trust.

Another thing I’m trying to understand better is pricing. When you’re buying coloured gemstones, particularly from dealers or suppliers you haven’t worked with before, how do you know whether the price you’re being quoted is actually a fair one?

I understand that there are so many variables involved with coloured stones, so it isn’t as straightforward as comparing two prices online. Is knowing what a stone should roughly trade for something that simply comes with experience, or are there particular price guides, databases, dealer networks or other resources that people in the trade use as a reference?

And when sourcing a more valuable stone, do you normally compare quotations from several dealers before buying, or is that not really how the industry works once you have suppliers you trust?

For those of you who have completed, or are currently studying, the IGS Professional Gemologist course, I’d also love to hear how you found it. Did you feel it gave you a good foundation for working more seriously with gemstones? Were there any areas you felt you needed to study further elsewhere, or anything you would recommend doing alongside the course?

I’d really love to hear how others found their way into the industry, especially anyone who came into gemology from jewellery design or another career rather than taking the traditional route from the beginning.

Any advice for someone just starting to dip her toes into this side of the jewellery world would be very appreciated. :blush:

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Hi Sarah,

Welcome to the community!

It is always encouraging to see someone build a business around a specialized niche. When you discover what you are most passionate about and pour that passion into your work, it becomes more than a service or product. It becomes part of the story you help others tell.

The bridal community is full of niche paths, some familiar and some wonderfully unexpected. I have always found inspiration in the diversity of requests and preferences couples bring forward as they choose how to symbolize their commitment. Diamonds or colored gemstones? Wedding bands with stones or without? Exotic materials or traditional metals? The options are endless, and every decision becomes part of a larger story written with care, meaning, and trust.

Over the years, I have worked with clients who had very specific requirements for their nuptial jewelry, but those requests were rarely consistent enough to become a repeatable process. Part of me has always wanted more consistent business so I could streamline my products and procedures. At the same time, too much streamlining can take away from what makes each commission special: the uniqueness of the couple and the story they are about to tell.

The jewelry and gemstone industry is dynamic, constantly shifting with new materials, techniques, markets, and expectations. That reality has taught me one of the most important lessons in business:

You never stop studying.

The day you stop learning is the day your business begins to fall behind. This industry is a perpetual marathon of seeking new ideas, finding better resources, and earning the trust of clients who may become loyal to you and your brand. The learning never ends, and it cannot be treated as optional.

Honestly, I do not mind the variation. It keeps me alert, keeps my eyes on the market, and keeps my creativity moving. Every unusual request pushes me to think differently, research more deeply, and refine what I know.

The hardest lesson, however, has been learning how to establish trust with suppliers, brokers, cutters, and the technical experts who support the business behind the scenes. In a field built on details, relationships matter as much as materials.

Looking back, I wish I had learned gemology at the very beginning. If the world came with a rewind button, that is one choice I would absolutely revisit. My lack of early gemstone knowledge affected my younger aspirations of building a business. It is difficult to trust a broker you may never meet in person or to rely on a calibrated parcel coming from a place you have only seen in obscure travel brochures, only to discover later that the parcel is not well calibrated or is not the gem species you expected.

That experience taught me to keep opening new doors, build quality supply lines carefully, and never underestimate the value of customer trust. Happy customers become your best advertising. An unhappy customer, however, can disrupt the rhythm of a two-year or even five-year business plan. The lesson is simple but lasting: study constantly, choose partners wisely, and protect the trust that allows every unique story to be told well.

-Cheers!

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Hi Sarah,

Welcome, and it was really interesting to read your introduction. I’m also an IGS Pro member, based in Denmark, and I work professionally with natural coloured gemstones, with much of my sourcing connected to Sri Lanka.

I can definitely relate to some of your questions, particularly regarding pricing and building relationships with suppliers. From the trading side, I would say that trust is probably one of the most important parts of the coloured gemstone business.

Regarding pricing, I think one of the challenges when starting out is that there is rarely a simple “correct price” for a coloured gemstone. Two stones of the same variety and similar carat weight can have very different values depending on colour, saturation, tone, clarity, cut, treatment, origin and, ultimately, how attractive the stone actually is in person.

Price guides and online market comparisons can certainly help to develop a general frame of reference, but I would be cautious about treating them as definitive valuations. Asking prices are not necessarily transaction prices, and two stones that appear quite similar from descriptions or photographs can be very different when examined side by side. In my experience, there is no real substitute for seeing and evaluating many stones over time.

When I am unfamiliar with a supplier, or with the market level of a particular type of stone, I would not necessarily rely on one quotation alone. It can be useful to compare genuinely comparable stones from a few different sources, while being careful that you are really comparing like with like in terms of colour, treatment, origin, cut and overall quality. Over time, as you work with reliable suppliers and see more stones, you gradually develop a much better sense of realistic trading ranges.

When developing relationships with suppliers, I would personally look beyond simply who offers the lowest price. Consistency and transparency are extremely important. If a supplier describes a stone as having a certain colour, clarity, treatment status or overall quality, you want to develop confidence that the stone you receive will match that description. Over time, that reliability becomes very valuable.

With a new supplier, I think it is sensible to start relatively small. Buy a few stones, examine them carefully, see whether the descriptions and quality match your expectations, and observe how the supplier responds to questions or handles any problems. For more significant purchases, I would also want clear treatment disclosure, proper invoicing and agreed inspection or return terms.

For more valuable stones, independent laboratory reports can of course be important, particularly where treatment or origin has a significant bearing on value. At the same time, I think developing your own ability to evaluate a stone is essential. A laboratory report can give you important gemological information, but it cannot necessarily tell you whether that particular stone is beautiful, well suited to your design, or commercially appropriate for your customer.

I also think your background in bridal jewellery gives you a very interesting starting point for moving into fine jewellery. Rather than trying to build a large gemstone inventory immediately, you could gradually develop relationships with a few suppliers and source stones according to individual projects. That would allow you to learn the market, understand what your clients respond to and keep your capital exposure relatively controlled.

One thing I have learned is that good supplier relationships tend to develop gradually. Once you find people whose descriptions, disclosure and quality you can rely on, the relationship becomes about much more than simply finding the lowest price. Trust, consistency and being able to communicate honestly about a stone are very valuable in this trade.

Your plan to combine your existing jewellery experience with a stronger gemological foundation sounds like a very interesting journey. I’ll also be interested to hear the experiences of some of the other members here, particularly regarding the different routes people have taken into the trade and their experience with the IGS Professional Gemologist programme.

Best wishes,
Thanuja

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Hi Troy :slightly_smiling_face:

Thank you for reaching out. It really does become part of a story. I’ve always believed that, and it’s one of the reasons I started making jewelry in the first place.

I think, as you say, every couple is unique in their own way, and their story can be reflected in the jewelry itself, especially when it comes to something as meaningful as a proposal. There’s something really beautiful about that.

And you’re right, there is always something to learn. I don’t think it’s something you can ever really get bored of, with new discoveries and everything in between in the world of gemology and diamonds.

I do wish I’d started studying it years ago, when I was younger and had a slightly fresher mind! I was never particularly interested in much at school apart from the artistic side of things, and back then there really wasn’t much available to me in the direction I wanted to go. So I taught myself what I didn’t know and followed what I found a passion for.

That’s eventually how I built my business from the ground up, and I’m forever grateful that I believed in myself enough to do it. I suppose it’s better late than never, right? I’m 38 now, so I still have plenty of learning left in me. Although running a business and being the only person wearing all the hats definitely doesn’t leave my brain as fresh as it used to be :rofl:

Thank you as well for sharing your experience and for the sound advice. I really appreciate it.

Most especially, study constantly, choose partners wisely, and protect the trust that allows every unique story to be told well

Thanks Troy,

Sarah

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Thanuja,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. I was really hoping I would get some replies, as I wasn’t sure if I would!

I’m based in Malta, so it’s lovely to know you’re in the EU too. Sri Lanka has some beautiful gemstones.

You’re right about pricing. I think that’s the part I’m still trying to get used to at the moment, especially because, as you said, no two gems are exactly the same. I did have a look at a few online websites with pricing guides, but noticed most of them are behind a paid subscription, so I suppose that’s quite normal in the industry.

I do get a little nervous purchasing gemstones online without speaking to the seller personally and making sure I understand where the stone has come from, whether there have been any treatments, and everything else that goes with it. I’ve been bitten twice already, although that was entirely my own fault as I wasn’t very knowledgeable at the time.

I do think my background will help me quite a lot though. I already have clients who come to me for their bridal jewelry, and many of them come back later for anniversary pieces, wedding bands or even engagement rings because they already know and trust my work. So I’m hoping that will give me a good foundation as I move further into fine jewelry and gemstones.

Thank you again for sharing your advice and knowledge with me! :slightly_smiling_face:

Best wishes, and speak soon,

Sarah

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