Gem Symposium to Hold Synthetics Debate

RAPAPORT... The Sixth Mediterranean Gemmological & Jewellery Conference will feature a roundtable debate on marketing lab-grown diamonds.The conference will take place from May 15 to 17 in Thessaloniki, Greece.Michael Schlamindger of Swarovski and Mark Cullinan of Cullinan Diamonds will be among the panelists at the discussion, which asks how synthetic diamonds and gems should be marketed alongside natural diamonds. John Chapman of Gemetrix will serve as moderator.The event will be centered around trade issues and challenges, and will offer solutions. Attendees will have access to a variety of workshops with presentations by a range of leading industry figures. "We will welcome trade members from across the world to compare the wide range of the latest treated and synthetic diamonds and gems to natural stones," said Branko Deljanin, director and colored-diamond specialist at Canadian Gemlab (CGL), who is also the conference chair.Participants can also take a gem tour of a ruby mine in Prilep, Macedonia; visit the Trepca mineral museum and the sphalerite mine in Kosovo; and attend a gem and cultural tour of Serbia. Image: The Thessaloniki coastline. (Mediterranean Gemmological Conference)