Gemmologist and jewellery valuer, Gemlab Jewellery

Jill Towers uses a range of equipment to help establish the value of precious stones at GemLab in Takapuna. Picture / Graeme Sedal

Name: Jill Towers
Age: 50
Role: Gemmologist and jewellery valuer, Gemlab Jewellery Valuers, Takapuna
Working hours: 32 hours
Average pay: Junior: mid $30,000s and senior $50,000-plus
Qualifications: Bachelor of Science in geology (Auckland), F. G. A. (diploma in gemmology), D. G. A. (diploma in diamond grading).

Describe how you got this job?

I did my degree first and I liked the mineralogy. I sent my CV out to jewellers and gem labs throughout Auckland as I wanted to get a job in the industry.

I ended up working for Pascoes at its head office in the gem room. I worked there for three years sorting gems for their rings and studied my diploma of gemmology.

Then I worked for a diamond importer for a year and got part of my diploma for diamond grading there and completed it at Gemlab this year. I have been here for two years.

Describe what you do?

My main job is a jewellery valuer, but to do that you need to be a gemmologist.

We test gem stones in jewellery and value them for insurance companies. I also do diamond grading for colour and clarity for jewellery shops, manufacturing jewellers and importers.

Before we value stones, we have to determine exactly what there are: diamonds, rubies or sapphires etc. Some stones prove a bit difficult and you have to give it the old forensic examination.

We have quite a range of instruments to call upon: our eyes, a loupe, a light source, a microscope, a refractometer, a polariscope, a Chelsea filter, a dichroscope, a spectroscope, and various other filters, scales for weighing and a UV light.

What have you had to do to succeed at this job?

Undertake study to get the diploma. You don't learn valuing overnight, it takes time to build up the knowledge base and experience. I was an older student. It was sheer determination and perseverance that got me where I am now.

What sort of training or experience do you need?

Anyone can do it. You do the diploma papers by correspondence from England, Australia, or America. You need a reasonably good level of essay writing.

The diploma gives the skills to do the job, but it does help to have experience in the trade. We are not a huge industry and there are not always jobs for gemmologists, but when you want a gemmologist it is sometimes hard to find them. It is a catch 22. So I advise people to get a job in the industry first and then do the training.

What skills and qualities do you need?

Patience, as some stones prove difficult. Being meticulous in your testing, methodical, showing attention to detail and having an inquiring mind. You have to keep up with all the reading on industry developments. There are new stones coming on the market and new synthesis and treatments. It is not a science that is static.

Best part of the job?

Identifying a difficult stone or finding a lovely inclusion (maybe a nice fingerprint or crystal or an imperfection) in a stone which makes it unique.

Most challenging part?

Identifying a difficult stone. Sometimes because the way a stone is set in a ring it precludes you from some tests. Or with an estate piece of jewellery, tracking down when it was made and determining a fair price is difficult.

How do you define success in this job?

Satisfaction in my job and looking forward to going to work each day.

What are your career hopes for future?

I would like to continue in my present role for as long as my eyes hold out. I would like to get involved perhaps in research and writing articles and some teaching.

If I wanted a job like yours how would I go about it?

I would suggest people get a job first in the jewellery industry and then talk to someone who is a gemmologist or jewellery valuer about what they do. They can go to the websites for the diplomas and look at the courses available.

What advice do you have for someone wanting a career like yours?

People who are interested in rocks and have an inquiring mind like gemmology. Some gemmologists have a geology degree or something similar and I am sure that helped me get through. Some of the concepts are a little scientific, but it is nothing unmanageable for anyone.