By Jennifer Heebner, Editor in Chief
Well-known gemologist, lecturer, and author Alan Hodgkinson died on Oct. 7 after a brief illness. His family informed the trade the day after his death. He was 87 years old.
Scottish-born Hodgkinson’s entrée to jewelry occurred while he was serving in the Royal Air Force in Aberdeen, Scotland; he met a family of jewelers who offered him an opportunity to work provided he secured a gemology degree. By age 20, he had obtained his FGA—Fellowship of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain—with distinction. He relocated with his wife, Charlotte, to Glasgow to serve as the first Group Training Officer of Jewellery Training Scotland, Ltd.
Among them was Chris Smith, president and owner of American Gemological Laboratories, or AGL, who met him as an industry newbie.
“Though he was well known, he wanted to meet me during a Tucson show early in my career,” recollects Smith. “This shows his character. He was so supportive to the next generation of gemologists.”
Research Director of The GemGuide, Stuart Robertson, also met him in earlier days—at Robertson’s very first GIA alumni meeting.
“I got a private tutorial on visual optics,” he explains. “Alan was all about sharing and giving of time and education. His focus was on finding practical approaches to gem issues in a manner that was financially and intellectually accessible.”
Noted gemologist Gary Roskin calls him an “accomplished desk gemologist,” adding that he was beloved in the gem education sector.
“He had a willingness to share gem testing techniques he learned or even created,” he says. “There are plenty of people in the industry who have incredible talent when looking at a gem and determining its identification and its beauty. Alan was one, though, who passed it along, patiently and passionately.”
GIA’s Robert Weldon, who recently retired from more than two decades of service (including as Director of the Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library and Information Center), recalls how Hodgkinson “discovered so many different ways of using light to ID gemstones.”
“His book Gem Testing Techniques is incredible,” he notes. “He had to know gemology inside and out to come up with so many ways to identify gemstones.”
Hodgkinson was also the first recipient of the Antonio C. Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology in 2000. Kathryn Bonanno, daughter of the namesake of the award, says he will be remembered for the creative ways he thought about gemology.
“He wanted to spend less and do more,” she observes. “In Tucson one year we had a course with the Accredited Gemologists Association (AGA) using the moonlight to identify gems. We were outside in the dark! He held up faceted stones and through a process of deduction—was it a single or double refractive stone—would narrow down what it could be. “I learned to love single malt Scotch with him in Scotland, he loved to joke, often wore his kilt, and was fun to be around.”
A service of commemoration will take place in North Ayrshire on October 29 for family and friends. Donations for the Ayrshire Hospice will be appreciated.
Hodgkinson is survived by wife Charlotte, daughters Valerie and Avril, younger brother Colin, and a niece and nephew. In a note from his family, they express the comfort they’ve gained from the many tributes shared and encourage more.
“If you have an image of Alan, please share it to the Gem Testing Techniques Facebook page and if it comes with a story then all the better.”
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