jellybean
Brilliant_Rock
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Congrats to Nicrez
- Thread starter cflutist
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JCJD
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Mara
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LadyluvsLuxury
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Nicrez
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The stones they send you are one at a time, I believe. In class they give you a student ID and you trade that in for the stone packet. The largest we saw was a .60ct, and the best was a D VVS1. Rule #1 in grading GIA classroom diamonds....there is NO SUCH THING AS AN IF STONE! Honestly, they would be too expensive to ship, so GIA may send you a VVS1 at maybe .25cts at best. Certainly NOT a .60+ct!
Actually there was an incident of someone who "lost" a diamond in one class, and he never showed up the next day. He actually withdrew, and got his refund back, but what an idiot! The stone could not have been worth more than $400 or so, and now he is black listed at GIA and the industry! Talk about simple people!
In class, we had some seriously rigorous goals for diamond grading. All in all, we needed 200+ diamonds to grade in order to graduate. Not sure what the goal was in distance, but you get to spend your time with the stone and really learn inclusions with less of a time restriction, which is great! For colored stones we had to see over 2000 stones, so that's always a tough one, when you are rushing to get them all done before you can qualify for your exams. No stone count, no exam. No exam, no degree... Some students worked faster than others, and lots of people had a mad rush at the end to finish their count, while others sat bored for weeks... it depends on how speedy, thorough and fast you were...
As for deadlines, definately check with GIA, they have different deadlines with different courses, because I knew a person who did her Gemology degree in 4 years... so it's possible to delay it a bit, just not sure by how much.
I suggest the courses to anyone interested. It gives you a wider scope of what you could possibly learn on the internet, and gives you access to stones you may not see, and the specifics of inclusions as well as cut and grading helps you to truly understand diamonds.
As tough as it was for some people to grasp, I felt that the whole light theory lectures that we discusssed in class made looking at diamonds totally different, and made you really respect the art of cutting. It's what seperates a heathen from a magician. Just learning the physics of polishing on a dodecahedral side, the cleaving through a cubic plane, the sawing through a octahedral plane, etc makes the mystery of the diamond and how the natural shape and inclusions really can affect it or not.
I won't lie, I am a bit of a dork, but I found the chemistry and physics of diamonds fascinating. There is so much more to know that meets the eye, and like anything else, without the whole story you may never truly appreciate a good cut, if you don't know what effort it took to get it, and what exactly constitutes a "good cut" or WHY it is "good".
Now we know why I changed my career, huh...?
As for what I am going to do now that I have graduated...
I AM GOING TO DISNEYLAND!
Actually there was an incident of someone who "lost" a diamond in one class, and he never showed up the next day. He actually withdrew, and got his refund back, but what an idiot! The stone could not have been worth more than $400 or so, and now he is black listed at GIA and the industry! Talk about simple people!
In class, we had some seriously rigorous goals for diamond grading. All in all, we needed 200+ diamonds to grade in order to graduate. Not sure what the goal was in distance, but you get to spend your time with the stone and really learn inclusions with less of a time restriction, which is great! For colored stones we had to see over 2000 stones, so that's always a tough one, when you are rushing to get them all done before you can qualify for your exams. No stone count, no exam. No exam, no degree... Some students worked faster than others, and lots of people had a mad rush at the end to finish their count, while others sat bored for weeks... it depends on how speedy, thorough and fast you were...
As for deadlines, definately check with GIA, they have different deadlines with different courses, because I knew a person who did her Gemology degree in 4 years... so it's possible to delay it a bit, just not sure by how much.
I suggest the courses to anyone interested. It gives you a wider scope of what you could possibly learn on the internet, and gives you access to stones you may not see, and the specifics of inclusions as well as cut and grading helps you to truly understand diamonds.
As tough as it was for some people to grasp, I felt that the whole light theory lectures that we discusssed in class made looking at diamonds totally different, and made you really respect the art of cutting. It's what seperates a heathen from a magician. Just learning the physics of polishing on a dodecahedral side, the cleaving through a cubic plane, the sawing through a octahedral plane, etc makes the mystery of the diamond and how the natural shape and inclusions really can affect it or not.
I won't lie, I am a bit of a dork, but I found the chemistry and physics of diamonds fascinating. There is so much more to know that meets the eye, and like anything else, without the whole story you may never truly appreciate a good cut, if you don't know what effort it took to get it, and what exactly constitutes a "good cut" or WHY it is "good".
Now we know why I changed my career, huh...?
As for what I am going to do now that I have graduated...
MichelleCarmen
Super_Ideal_Rock
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That''s hilarious that someone ACTUALLY ran off with a little stone like that! lol I''m surprised that charges weren''t filed.
The physics aspect you''d think would facinate my husband as he has his BS in physics, but instead he dramactially yawns at the mere mention of a well-cut diamond and its attributes!
He must think if he admits to the facination of diamonds, this means he''ll have to buy me more. lol
Anyway, thanks for sharing info on this course. I''m really considering, but also am thinking of learning more Spanish, so I''ll probably have to choose one or the other.
Good luck with your wedding planning & hope you have a great time in Disneyland!
The physics aspect you''d think would facinate my husband as he has his BS in physics, but instead he dramactially yawns at the mere mention of a well-cut diamond and its attributes!
Anyway, thanks for sharing info on this course. I''m really considering, but also am thinking of learning more Spanish, so I''ll probably have to choose one or the other.
Good luck with your wedding planning & hope you have a great time in Disneyland!
Nicrez
Ideal_Rock
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- Jan 21, 2004
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MC,
They BELIEVE he ran off with the stone, since he so mysteriously disappeared the day after the stone went missing. But it was never filed, so they must not have had hard evidence. Pitiful though isn''t it?
As for Spanish versus GIA, consider moving to Spain and taking a course out there... LOL You know, grab the fam, wisk them away to sunny Spain and learn your gemology all together! LOL
Actually funny you mention your guy and not liking diamonds. My DF was an engineering major in college. When I took my course, I was all stressed about exams so I talked out the questions and answered them aloud. he would start finishing my answers, and after a while he started learning when I would correct him or praise him for knowing the chemical composition and formula of corundum... Why he remember that, lord knows!
If ever you DO decide to take it, you never know what your hubby might find interesting... maybe if he understood it better, he would be more inclined to buy more as...research?
BTW, if you want to learn Spanish quickly, watch Univision or Telemundo (or other such Spanish only channels out there) with English subtitles. My friend, my step-grandmother and my sister-in-law learned it quite well through that method. Just beware you might get more dramatic and passionate about EVERYTHING if you watch too long!!!
As for Disneyland I was being silly... I may go to Mexico to visit my sister, or I might just stay home and plan the wedding...
They BELIEVE he ran off with the stone, since he so mysteriously disappeared the day after the stone went missing. But it was never filed, so they must not have had hard evidence. Pitiful though isn''t it?
As for Spanish versus GIA, consider moving to Spain and taking a course out there... LOL You know, grab the fam, wisk them away to sunny Spain and learn your gemology all together! LOL
Actually funny you mention your guy and not liking diamonds. My DF was an engineering major in college. When I took my course, I was all stressed about exams so I talked out the questions and answered them aloud. he would start finishing my answers, and after a while he started learning when I would correct him or praise him for knowing the chemical composition and formula of corundum... Why he remember that, lord knows!
If ever you DO decide to take it, you never know what your hubby might find interesting... maybe if he understood it better, he would be more inclined to buy more as...research?
BTW, if you want to learn Spanish quickly, watch Univision or Telemundo (or other such Spanish only channels out there) with English subtitles. My friend, my step-grandmother and my sister-in-law learned it quite well through that method. Just beware you might get more dramatic and passionate about EVERYTHING if you watch too long!!!
As for Disneyland I was being silly... I may go to Mexico to visit my sister, or I might just stay home and plan the wedding...
Jennifer5973
Ideal_Rock
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WOW!!! I remembered when you started the progam. I am so impressed by your achievement and just a bit envious of your expert knowledge.
Congratulations.
I am very happy for you and can''t wait to see where your new knowledge takes you. I am sure your insights here on Pscope will be very much appreciated and valued.
Congratulations.
KBerly
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Kaili
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Patty
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