GIA’s (Gemological Institute of America) Gemstone Gathering in Bangkok will present a talk by the Institute’s senior manager of global pearl services - Nicholas Sturman. The talk will center around non-bead cultured pearls, their origins, nomenclature and identification, as well as their use in jewelry products. The Gathering is slated on July 27 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Lumpini Park in Bangkok.

Cultured pearls are the most prevalent type of pearls on the market. They may be divided into two main kinds, bead cultured and non-bead cultured. This presentation will focus on the latter and delve into their unique characteristics, such as internal structures that allow the vast majority of non-bead cultured pearls to be readily identified via microradiography.

Sturman has more than 25 years of experience in the detailed examination of pearls. He specializes in the separation of natural pearls from all types of cultured pearls at GIA’s laboratory in Bangkok. Sturman obtained his Fellowship (FGA) and Diamond Membership (DGA) from The Gemmological Association of Great Britain and spent more than 16 years studying pearls in the Kingdom of Bahrain as the gemological advisor to the Bahrain Government’s Gem and Pearl Testing Laboratory. He has authored various gemological publications and has given presentations in the Middle East and several other countries, including the U.K., Switzerland and Thailand.