Commission on Gem Materials

Scope and Strategy: The IMA-commission on Gem Materials was established during the 11^th IMA General Meeting (held in Novosibirsk, in 1978) following the former IMA Working Group on Gem Materials chaired by Prof. Sunagawa (Japan). Over all these years of continued effort, the IMA commission on Gem Materials has been focusing on harmonizing gem terminology with mineralogical terminology. The current officers will continue these tasks by keeping the gem glossary up to date. In addition, we perceive that, in the modern world, the following roles should be assumed by the IMA commission on Gem Materials: (1) the commission can serve as a bridge between the academic community, the gem trade, and the community of collectors; (2) the commission can serve as a bridge between the gem-producing countries and the gem-consuming countries; (3) the commission can serve as a bridge between the virtual worlds of gem-related information and the real world of gem research ; and (4) the commission should work more closely with other IMA commissions such as the commissions for museums, CNMNC, etc.

Officers:

Chair:
Andy Hsi-Tien SHEN
Professor, Gemological Institute, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.

Vice-Chair:
Prof. Dr. Oliver Tschauner
Dept. Earth Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA.

First Secretary:
Dr. Stefanos Karampelas
Laboratoire Français de Gemmologie, Paris, France.

Second Secretary:
Dr. Chao-wen Wang
Gemmological Institute, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.