Shane McClure, GIA Laboratory
Shane F. McClure is Global Director of Colored Stone Services for the GIA Laboratory, based in Carlsbad, California, USA. A frequently requested speaker at national and international conferences and trade shows with more than 44 years’ experience in the A51field of gemstone identification and treatments, he has been a contributing author on many articles published in GIA’s quarterly journal Gems & Gemology as well as many other publications. He has won Gems and Gemology’s Most Valuable Article Award nine times on topics such as diffusion – treated sapphires, the identification of filled diamonds, and gemstone enhancement and detection in the 1990’s and has twice been an author on articles that have won the American Gem Society’s Richard T. Liddicoat award for outstanding journalism in the jewelry trade. In 2007 he was the recipient of the Antonio C. Bonanno award for excellence in gemology.
Mr. McClure is also a co-editor of the Gem Trade Lab Notes section of Gems & Gemology and an accomplished gem and jewelry photographer and photomicrographer.
Dr. Michael S. Krzemnicki, SSEF
Dr. Michael S. Krzemnicki. Michael has been with SSEF since February 1998. Following his tenure as director of education, he became director of the SSEF laboratory in June 2009. He is involved in gemstone testing, education, and management of the laboratory. Dr. Krzemnicki holds a Master’s degree in Mineralogy and received his PhD in 1996 from Basel University (Switzerland). He received his FGA Diploma in January 1998. For many years he has been lecturing in gemmology at the University of Basel, where is a Privatdozent (PD). He is a fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain and member of the scientific board of the Swiss Gemmological Society SGG. He is also on the executive committee of the International Gemmological Conference (IGC).
Christopher P. Smith, American Gemological Laboratories
Christopher P.Smith is a 35 year veteran of the gem and jewelry industry with a distinguished international career. His career has spanned a twelve year tenure with the Gübelin Laboratory in Switzerland, an eight-year tenure with the GIA Laboratory (in both California and New York), as well as fifteen years with the American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) in New York.Chris has pioneered research into several areas of gemology, involving the detection, classification and disclosure of treatments, characterization of gem varieties, new testing methods and country-of-origin determinations. As part of his research activities, he has alsovisited a number ofgem mines around the world. Along with his identification and research work, Chris has published and lectured extensively onvarious gemological topics. He has earned a number of awards for his commitment to gemologyand the gemstone industry. He a founding member of the Laboratory Manual Harmonization Committee (LMHC). In 2012 the Jeweler’s Circular Keystone included Chris in its Power List of the Industry’s 50 most influential people. Since 2009, Chris has been owner and President of the American Gemological Laboratories. Founded in 1977 and situated in the heart of the New York gemstone and jewelry district, American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) is an international gemstone testing facility specializing in comprehensive colored gemstone analysis. AGL provides detailed identificationand enhancement reports, country-of-origin reports, as well as complete colored stone analysisdocuments tailored to gems of unique importance.
Dr. Lore Kiefert, German Diamond Institute Foundation
Dr. Lore Kiefert is a gemmologist with over 25 years working experience in several gemmological laboratories.
Dr. Kiefert was first exposed to gemmology when she started studying Mineralogy in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1981 and completed her Master’s thesis on the origin of sapphires in 1987. Not long after, she moved to Australia. There she pursued a different field of research: Mineralogical and Chemical Composition of Desert Dust. This work earned her a PhD in 1996.
Leaving Australia for Switzerland in 1994, Dr. Kiefert joined the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute as Deputy Director and later became Director of the Coloured Stones Department. During her time at the SSEF, in 1998, she completed her FGA Diploma. In 2005, Dr. Kiefert moved to New York to head the AGTA Gemmological Testing Center as Laboratory Director. Later, in October 2009, Dr. Kiefert returned to Switzerland to join the Gubelin Gem Lab as Chief Gemmologist where she retired in September 2020 to open up her own Consulting Company (www.gemlabhelp.com).
Dr. Kiefert has authored and coauthored numerous publications in gemmological and scientific journals, as well as chapters in textbooks such as the Handbook of Raman Spectroscopy. She regularly delivers gemmological lectures at conferences worldwide and has co-organized two gemmological conferences in Switzerland and the USA. Dr. Kiefert is also on the editorial review board of Gems & Gemology and the Journal of Gemmology, and represented first AGTA – GTC, then the Gübelin Gem Lab at the LMHC meetings (lmhc-gemmology.org).
Most recently, Dr. Kiefert co-authored a textbook in a series of books addressing Art Historians and Archaeologists (https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030354480).
In June 2017, Dr. Kiefert was rewarded a temporary Professorship at one of the most prestigious Universities in China, Tongji University in Shanghai. She was also awarded the Visiting Professor status at the same University.
Currently, Dr. Kiefert is partnering with the German Diamond Institute Foundation (DDI Pforzheim), in conducting reports for coloured gemstones and diamonds, as well as giving classes about coloured gemstones. She also offers specialized services for gem dealers and gemmological laboratories.