The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Thailand will present a jade lecture at the 23rd Gemstone Gathering on April 29 at the Tawana Hotel in Bangkok.

Richard Hughes, senior vice president of Gemstone Marketing and Testing, NCS Group Co., Ltd., will discuss its history and origin in “Jade: Stone of Heaven.” His multi-media seminar will include a first-hand account of the mining and trading of this hard-to-find gemstone.

Jade, called the “stone of heaven” by the Chinese, is one of mankind’s most beguiling gemstone includes both nephrite and jadeite. But only jadeite occurs in the coveted “imperial” type, and there is only one source, Upper Burma (Myanmar), which Hughes will focus on during his presentation.