Students in China have an opportunity – for the first time – to enroll in the Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) on-campus Graduate Gemologist (GG) program in Shanghai. The course, hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, will begin in July 2011.

The six-month program will enable students to finish the GG program much faster than through distance education and the traveling lab classes, the only options previously available to them.

"Shanghai is the most cosmopolitan city in China and has the largest consumer base," says Seung-Hae Moon, managing director of GIA Asia Pacific. "The jewelry industry needs professionally trained GIA graduates, and we are committed to fostering that need. That is the core tenet of our mission to protect the public’s trust in jewelry throughout the world."

GIA Taiwan instructors will teach the GG program in Mandarin Chinese.



Students will learn to understand the 4Cs' (Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat weight) effect on diamond value; grade diamonds in the D-Z color range; use gemological equipment to grade and identify gemstones; detect treated diamonds; and knowledgeably guide customers through the buying process.

GIA has offered lab classes in China for more than a decade. The first Diamond Grading lab class was held in Beijing in 1999, followed by Gem Identification and Colored Stone Grading lab classes in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.