The Gubelin Gem Lab is largely responsible for developing the science of origin determination in gemstones. Pioneered by the late Dr Eduard Gubelin, origin determination triggered awareness of the different sources of gemstones, and imbued these stones with a certain prestige.
Today, the Gubelin Gem Lab is committed to further excelling in this field of gemmology with a view to maintaining its reliability and trustworthiness in the eyes of the gemstone trade.
We publish reports of field trips recently undertaken by our geologists and gemmologists, accompanied by fascinating photos.
Fieldtrip to emerald mines in Zambia, 2010
Following the unfortunate failure to visit Gemfields’ Kagem mine on the first field trip in 2009, Dr. Leo Klemm returned to Zambia in August and September 2010 on invitation by Gemfields.
The main purpose of this second trip was to visit both the Kagem mine and again the Musakashi mine and to collect and purchase samples for the GGL reference collection.
Fieldtrip report
Fieldtrip to emerald mines in Zambia, 2009
Mr. Guy Clutterbuck (GC), a gem dealer from London, contacted GGL in April 2009 for some chemical analyses of three emerald samples from Zambia. Dr. Leo Klemm conducted these analyses by LA-ICPMS. The results matched the chemical fingerprint of Zambian emeralds (from the Kafubu area) from the GGL reference collection, except for one stone, which was labelled: "new mine near Solwezi". This material showed characteristics similar to Colombian emeralds and the colour was very intense. GGL decided that it would be important to get more of this material to better characterise it. It was agreed with GC that I may accompany him on his next trip to Zambia and to visit the "new mine near Solwezi".
Fieldtrip report
Fieldtrip to Mogok stone tract in Burma, 2004
Mogok is among the most famous sources of corundum worldwide. Aside of this, the area is still today an important producer of many rubies and sapphires that make their way to our laboratory for testing. This fact implies that we are obliged to acquire, analyse, document and understand all types of gem material from this area.
Fieldtrip report
