AGL gemologist to receive Liddicoat journalism award

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AGL gemologist to receive Liddicoat journalism award

July 27, 2007

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New York—Christopher P. Smith, vice president and chief gemologist of the American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), will receive the Richard T. Liddicoat Journalism Award for industry/trade reporting from the American Gem Society (AGS).

Smith shares the honor with co-authors Shane McClure, Wuyi Wang and Matt Hall for the article "Identification and Durability of Lead Glass-Filled Rubies," published in the Spring 2006 issue of Gems and Gemology.

McClure and Hall work for the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Laboratory, while Wang was profiled in the piece. At the time the article was written, Smith was director of Identification Services at the GIA Laboratory in New York. He joined the AGL last December.

"It's a great honor to win this prestigious award along with the other authors," Smith said in a statement. "The article describes a new ruby treatment which has had a significant impact on the gem industry and really highlights the importance of proper disclosure. This award is a reflection of that."

He said the article helped expand the durability studies of the material beyond jewelry-manufacturing processes related to cleaning, resizing or repair and into various consumer or household products.

"We were able to establish a number of methods to readily identify this treatment using simple as well as more advanced methods, and we discovered that in some instances, the gemstones were more susceptible to damage from common household products such as ammonia, bleach or even concentrated lemon juice than they were to jewelry-manufacturing-repair issues," he said.

He added that it's essential that consumers are made aware of these issues when purchasing the stones and for retailers to properly communicate this information.

The Liddicoat Journalism Award was created in 2002 in memory of Richard T. Liddicoat, known as the father of modern gemology and the editor in chief of Gems and Gemology for 50 years. The award is given out annually in the categories of jewelry industry/trade reporting, consumer reporting in national or multiple markets, and local consumer reporting.

The award will be presented on July 31 at the AGS Circle of Distinction Dinner.

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