As the world’s foremost gemological authority, GIA has a network of field gemologists who cover every corner of the globe. Vincent Pardieu, GIA’s Supervisor of Field Gemology in Thailand, is living proof that boundless curiosity can provide many forms of enrichment.
Pardieu decided to pursue his passion for gems after working for ten years as a tour guide in Southeast Asia. He always had an interest in nature, but after seeing how gemstones touch everything from art to history, to chemistry and geology, he earned his GIA Graduate Gemologist diploma.
Pardieu has made numerous expeditions to some of the most remote parts of the world, chronicling the mining, trading and production of gems. “GIA has to do its homework to be able to identify the origin of gemstones, and this requires having a reference sample. The best way to get a reference stone is to go to the source,” said Pardieu.
He described to us one of his favorite trips to date, to a ruby mine in Vietnam. “The landscape was so beautiful it looked like it could have been in a movie. There were vast stretches of rice fields, jungles and bamboo groves.”
Pardieu particularly enjoys the exciting atmosphere at a mining site. “You have thousands of miners thinking, ‘This is my chance to become a millionaire!’”
The comprehensive courses Pardieu took at GIA taught him to properly identify gemstones, a skill he uses daily. Learn more on earning the gem and jewelry industry’s most prestigious credential.
Travel the world with Vincent Pardieu in this great video:
If you could travel the world as a field gemologist like Pardieu, where would you most like to visit?
