• IJL Gemmology Seminars
• Summer School 2008
• Coutts London Jewellery Week
• On Campus Programmes
• Lab Classes
• Distance Education
  • Distance Education Overview
  • Accredited Jewelry Professional (A.J.P.) Diploma
  • Gemologist Distance Education Programme
  • Diamonds Distance Education Programme
  • Colored Stones Distance Education Programme
  • Graduate Pearls Diploma Programme
  • Student Workroom
  • Individual Courses
• School of Business
• Diplomas
• How do I find the right course?
• How to Enrol
• 2008 Course Schedule

Distance Education

Gemologist Distance Education Programme

WHAT YOU LEARN

With instruction from experts at the Institute, you develop highly marketable skills in diamond grading and gem identification. And, naturally, you learn diamond grading from none other than the creators of the 4Cs and the International Diamond Grading System™ – GIA.

This is where you gain priceless hands-on experience by practising with actual diamonds. And it's where you learn how the 4Cs of diamond value (colour, clarity, cut, and carat weight) relate to quality, beauty, and value.

What's more, by learning and applying the GIA Colored Stone Grading System, you acquire the skills required to buy and sell colour with the sharp insight of a seasoned jewellery professional.

You also learn how to use gemmological testing equipment to identify and separate a broad variety of gems. By working with GIA's internationally acclaimed instructors you test and identify hundreds of actual diamonds and gemstones, including those considered unusual or challenging.

And you discover how GIA's renowned gemmological experts distinguish natural gems from synthetic, treated, assembled, and imitation stones.

Plus, when you successfully complete GIA's prestigious Graduate Gemologist programme On Campus, you automatically earn the Institute's Accredited Jewelry Professional (A.J.P.) diploma. A second influential GIA credential that shows you've learned all the product knowledge and closing skills you need to sell more diamonds, more coloured stones, and more jewellery in today's competitive retail marketplace.

PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

• Learn the how the 4Cs (colour, clarity, cut, and carat weight) affect diamond value
• Learn how to use gemmological equipment designed to help you grade and identify gemstones
• Learn the secrets to accurate gem identification
• Learn how to detect the latest synthetics and treatments
• Learn how to detect fracture-filled diamonds
• Understand and translate clarity grades and GIA reports to earn a customer's trust and business
• Discover how to sell treated, synthetic, and imitation stones with full disclosure
• Learn key product knowledge for selling each popular gemstone, including: rubies, sapphires, and emeralds
• Turn product features into irresistible benefits that sell
• Learn how the diamond industry works and how diamonds travel from mine to market
• Learn how to grade diamonds in the normal colour range
• Learn about treated and fancy coloured diamonds
• Work with fancy cut and mounted diamonds
• Find out how to sell the legend and romance of diamonds
• Learn how to promote the best-selling types of diamond jewellery
• Work with diamond simulants
• Know how cut affects your buying and selling decisions
• Describe colour in coloured stones
• Understand how gems form and what they're made of
• Understand how colour affects value
• Learn to identify phenomenal coloured stones
• Understand proportion grading and how cut affects light, beauty, and value
• Learn how translucent and opaque coloured stones are graded for quality
• Gain tips on buying and selling coloured stones
• Learn how to find, plot, and grade clarity characteristics in diamonds
• Understand a diamond's optical and physical properties
• Analyse crown, pavilion, and total depth
• Judge finish details in cut diamonds
• Learn how to handle diamonds to avoid damage
• Learn how and when to use gem lab services
• Learn cutting styles, as well as how and when to plan recutting

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

In the courses and classes leading to GIA's Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) diploma, you acquire the grading and identification skills to become a buyer, appraiser, and senior professional in the jewellery industry. Learn how to grade diamonds from the creators of the International Diamond Grading System™. And discover how GIA's acclaimed experts detect treated, synthetic, and natural gemstones. This world-renowned programme provides you with the science and technical knowledge you need to deal in the entire spectrum of diamonds and coloured stones. You learn through a combination of GIA's Distance Education courses and Extension classes and you ultimately earn what is widely regarded as the industry's most prestigious professional designation – GIA's G.G. When employers or customers see G.G. at the end of your name, it reassures them that you're an internationally recognised professional backed by the most respected gemmological education in the world. An education that shows you how to translate absolute integrity and expert product knowledge into customer trust and increased earning power. 

Past GIA graduates have gone to pursue a career as:

• APPRAISER

• DIAMOND BUYER

• COLOURED STONE BUYER

• JEWELLERY BUSINESS OWNER

• JEWELLERY BUYER

• LAB AND RESEARCH PROFESSIONAL

• AUCTION HOUSE JEWELLERY SPECIALIST

• RETAILER

• DIAMOND MANUFACTURER

INTRODUCING THE NEXT GENERATION OF COURSE MATERIAL

And now, when you work toward earning GIA's G.G., you'll be among the first to learn from the next generation of Graduate Gemologist course material. Students take advantage of the latest instructional innovations, including: page design, use of language, and Web-enhanced learning. And the result of these innovations? You learn faster, retain more, and graduate sooner.