Stefanos Karampelas - Gems and Gemmology: An Introduction for Archaeologists, Art-Historians and Conservators

is Chief Gemmologist at the Laboratoire Franais de Gemmologie (LFG), Paris, and he is also lecturing for the Advanced Gemmology Diploma at the University of Nantes, France. He started studying Geology and Mineralogy at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), he has MSc in Geosciences and Advanced Gemmology Diploma, both from the University of Nantes (France), and he completed his PhD in Materials Physics at the University of Nantes (France) and Mineralogy at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) on the non-destructive study of the origin of pearls color. He worked as a Research Scientist for about 7 years at Gubelin Gem Lab and a further year at GemResearch Swisslab, both in Switzerland, as well as for about 3 years as Research Director for the Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones (DANAT). His research interests include advanced non-destructive techniques applied to all kind of gem materials. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals, contributed to books, and visited several gem mines as well as natural and cultured pearl producing areas around the globe. He is also frequently delivering lectures to international scientific conferences and gemmological meetings. He is a Member of the Commission of Gem Materials of International Mineralogical Association and of the Editorial Board of Gems & Gemology, Delegate for the International Gemmological Conference, and Associate Editor of The Journal of Gemmology.

is Chief Gemmologist at Gbelin Gem Lab, where she is, among other tasks, responsible for the training of gemmologists. She started studying mineralogy in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1981 and completed her masters thesis on the origin of sapphires in 1987. She then moved to Australia to study the mineralogical and chemical composition of desert dust, which earned her a PhD in 1996. Leaving Australia for Switzerland in 1994, she joined the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute as Deputy Director and went on to become its Director of the Coloured Stones Department as well. During her time at the SSEF, she completed her FGA Diploma in 1998. In 2005, she moved to New York to head the AGTA Gemmological Testing Center as Laboratory Director until she decided to return to Europe to join the Gubelin Gem Lab as Chief Gemmologist in October 2009.

She has authored and coauthored over 100 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-organised two gemmological conferences in Switzerland and the USA. She is also on the editorial review board of Gems & Gemology and