Our Story
The Loupe reflects on its 60-year history and looks to the future

By Emily Stegman and Jaime Kautsky

When The Loupe debuted in 1947, Editor Kay Swindler hoped the four-page newsletter would be "simple, yet enlightening, in a friendly, helpful sort of way." She couldn't have known that 60 years later, the "little paper" would grow to a 36-plus page, full-color newsmagazine with one of the largest circulations in the gem and jewelry industry.

"The Loupe has always been very important because it keeps students abreast of what's happening in the industry. And now, it does far more than it did when I was a GIA employee," says Margaret Orozco, who began her near 45-year career at GIA in the mail room in 1949.

"It was more technical back then, and now it has evolved so that anyone in the business can understand and relate to it. It used to be a two-to-three-page, black-and-white newsletter, and now there are many more pages and it's more global," says Orozco, who eventually became supervisor of management services and helped establish the Institute's bookstore.

Kay Swindler, The Loupe's first editor, trims copy for publication. Her editor's note (above) outlined the paper's mission when it debuted in 1947. Read more of the first issue of The Loupe. GIA file photo

"Even though there weren't many articles and there was not much space, it helped me gain more knowledge about the world of gems and jewelry. What's amazing now is that it's colorful, has a lot of pictures and gives you so much history and detail. You can go page-by-page in The Loupe and learn a lot."

Glenn R. Nord, GIA governor and past president, agrees.

"I read it like a book, page to page," he says. "I started as a student at GIA in the 1950s, and I've seen The Loupe grow for many years. It's just excellent, and the fact that it's a free publication is great. It keeps people in touch with GIA, and GIA in touch with people."

The Loupe has mirrored the changes and chronicled the Institute's legacy in an ever-changing industry as GIA and its mission have evolved.

The first issue of The Loupe was published in July 1947. GIA file photo

A Focus on People
As many who have studied and worked at the Institute would attest, the essence of GIA is its people.

That seems to have always been the understanding, as Kay Swindler's opening editorial suggests. The goal of the paper was to "develop a more intimate relationship" between the Institute and its constituents. The Loupe, she told students, staff and instructors, is "your paper."

So it makes sense that, in addition to serving as an important source of trade news in the 1940s, The Loupe was – and is – a link between those groups of people. It celebrated academic accomplishments, marked life's milestones and guided students through their studies. Students were able to write in to the "Questions That Bother Students" column in the 1940s and ask just about anything – like the difference between birefringence and double refraction.

A supplement honoring Richard T. Liddicoat appeared in the Fall 2002 issue. GIA file photo

"The shift in duties was so abrupt that The Loupe had to reassure students and supporters, 'None of these changes mean that Robert M. Shipley, founder of the Gemological Institute of America, has relinquished his position as Director of the Institute.' He would continue as 'its head and advisor' until he retired," wrote Leadership author William George Shuster.

Robert M. Shipley founded GIA in 1931. GIA file photo

The Loupe paid tribute to an industry pioneer, De Beers CEO Ernest Oppenheimer, when he died in 1957. "He was really the bridge between the early and modern diamond age in the 1950s," Shor says.

Oppenheimer's Loupe obituary did, indeed, read like an early history of the diamond industry, and discussed his philanthropic efforts – including a donation to GIA.

Richard T. Liddicoat's death in 2002 was marked with a special, 12-page Loupe supplement that included photos, timelines and stories that highlighted Liddicoat's professional and personal accomplishments. It also provided an outlet to friends and colleagues from around the world, who shared their memories of the beloved GIA president and "Father of Modern Gemology."

Many tributes to leaders of the modern age of gems and jewelry have also appeared in the magazine's pages through the years, including Dr. Edward J. Gübelin, William Goldberg, Helzberg Diamonds CEO Jeffrey Comment and GIA's G. Robert Crowningshield.

Early Loupe columnist G. Robert Crowningshield. GIA file photo

The Loupe has focused heavily on GIA research, beginning in its earliest days, in a way that's been different from Gems & Gemology (G&G), GIA's professional journal.

"The Loupe, especially in recent years, has complemented G&G well," says Alice Keller, editor-in-chief of G&G. "The summaries communicate the technical information from the journal to a broader and larger audience, and the trade-oriented articles provide our readers and others with the GIA perspective on these issues."

The magazine has long run condensed summaries of G&G issues. Beginning in the 1950s, Crowningshield authored "Through the Lens at the Gem Trade Lab," and Lester Benson wrote "Notes from the Los Angeles Lab" – columns that ran in The Loupe for several years.

"The Loupe reported on a wide range of gem materials that were brought to GIA for identification, and the Lab staff used a variety of tests – some quite imaginative – to identify them," says Dr. Jim Shigley, GIA distinguished Research fellow, of the early Lab columns. "You really see the gem identification skills and understanding of gem treatment and synthesis techniques that were in use at the time in these columns."

"GIA saw the need to examine a large number of diamonds to create a database," Shigley says of tests on "canary"-colored diamonds in the '50s. "And they recognized the need to examine diamonds with a known history of either natural or treated color, so they could develop confidence in the data to determine reliable identification criteria. We use that same approach today."

The Loupe's first couple of decades happened to coincide with the introduction of many new diamond simulants produced by science. But it was the General Electric Company's creation of synthetic diamond in 1954 that really caused a stir.

The Summer 2006 issue featured this pull-out section as a tool to help retailers explain GIA's new Diamond Cut Grading System. GIA file photo

Crowningshield and a few others began to write and give presentations about the material, and highlights from one of his Loupe-publicized presentations in New York notes that he would also discuss treated yellow diamonds, jadeite triplets and dyed jadeite, and newly developed hydrothermally grown rubies.

The Loupe ran several stories throughout the years on the progress of GIA's diamond cut research, and when the Institute's Diamond Cut Grading System debuted in 2006, the magazine covered it extensively. It featured a special pull-out section for retailers (see below), showing them how to explain the new cut grade to their customers and how the information was incorporated into GIA's Diamond Grading Reports.

The Loupe has always included industry news and developments that intertwine with the work of its Laboratory and Research departments. Its "World Items" columns in the 1950s, for example, featured news briefs that revealed what would become important new gem localities for GIA and the industry.

One, titled "Australian Pearls," stated, "The United States may be receiving shipments of cultured pearls from Australia in 1959. … The Australian waters are said to be capable of producing better pearls than those cultured in Japan."

This type of coverage continues with the debut of the Laboratory News section in this issue, which presents news from the Lab in a concise, reader-friendly format (see page 16).

The Loupe has always kept GIA students, like this graduating class from 1947, informed about the Institute. GIA file photo

The magazine's first issue, in the summer of 1947, encouraged students – many of whom were veterans enrolled in Distance Education – to keep up with their coursework. GIA's Distance Education program qualified for the G.I. Bill of Rights, which was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt just the year before. The Bill would enable more than 2,500 veterans to enroll at GIA over the next few years.

GIA's Education programs not only had to accommodate a growing number of students over the years, but an expanding international market as well. The first issue of the magazine cites 23 countries represented in GIA enrollments – a number that's grown to 108 in 2007.

The industry's global growth throughout the years prompted the Institute to establish several international locations. GIA Korea opened its doors in 1989, followed by locations in Italy, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Russia, Britain, India and Japan. The summer 2004 cover story, "Call for GIA Education Spans the Globe," took a closer look at the Institute's global expansion, with highlights from GIA India's establishment and New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong campus relocations.

The International News page (see page 32) has become a regular feature in the magazine and provides a forum for GIA's international locations to spread word of their students' accomplishments, campus events and noted visitors.

The establishment of the School of Business in 2002 answered the call for formalized business training with a jewelry industry edge. "Learning the Laws of the Land," from the Winter 2006 issue, introduced the new International Law and Trade elective course available in GIA's School of Business. The course was a result of an industry need for international business knowledge.

"I really liked this article because this is what I always stress in my classes," says Carl Chilstrom, a Gemology instructor at GIA since the 1970s. "They need to know their customers, the cultures of their countries and what makes them buy."

The newest program in the School of Business earns students a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. News of the program debuted in The Loupe pages in spring 2006 with a breakdown of how GIA's Jewelry Business Management program combined with new courses to create this degree-completion program.

Constant revisions and additions to coursework are another way GIA has adapted to the ever-changing gem and jewelry industry. Back in a 1947 Loupe it was synthetic emeralds that were "responsible for revision of assignments on that stone. When the course was previously written, synthetic emeralds were no threat as they were principally produced in Germany in such minute quantities that few reached the markets."

The Graduate Pearls coursework has been researched and revised since 1967, as the newsletter era of The Loupe cites in an article about Richard T. Liddicoat traveling to Japan to collect comparison pearls for use in the classroom. GIA's Research and Laboratory team prepared for Pearls coursework revisions again in 1997, and their travels to the South Seas to become more familiar with cultured pearl harvesting procedures were captured in a cover story.

The Accredited Jewelry Professional (A.J.P.) program was updated to reflect research and developments at GIA in 2006. The Loupe reported the courses in the program would include a section on watches, a supplement detailing GIA's Diamond Cut Grading System and information on the Institute's new podcasts – audio segments about jewelry trends and other relevant trade information available through GIA on iTunes U (see page 29).

"Tools for Your Trade" graced the cover of the Summer 2006 issue and provided a detailed account of the many programs and paths GIA offers students through the Institute's three main courses of study: business, gemology and jewelry manufacturing arts.

On Campus students get the added benefit of hearing from several guest lecturers and The Loupe is able to recap speakers' messages for those who aren't able to attend. In 2006, the magazine featured several visiting lecturers including an estate jeweler, a synthetic and simulated gem wholesaler, an auctioneer, cultured pearl experts and more.

The Loupe's "A Cut Above" section profiles alumni like Diana Jarrett, G.G., of Jewelry Television. Photo courtesy of Diana Jarrett

"We are committed to staying connected with our alumni," said Linda Ellis Harmeling, GIA vice president and chief Advancement officer. "Some of the most interesting and engaging stories in The Loupe are the ones that feature the progress, success, life experiences and advice of our alumni."

The Loupe covers the alumni travel program in detail, includes specific chapter events and keeps members aware of developments in the Association. Major developments this year, for example, included a shift to no-dues membership that is open to all GIA graduates and the new Continuing Education Program, which organizes hands-on and online seminars to keep alumni up with the gemological times.

Longer feature stories on alumni are a regular part of the magazine, too. Kiran Khaitan, G.G., founder of Kiran's Kustom Jewelry, kicked off "The Real World" feature in Spring 2006 with advice to stay aware of changes in the industry and "admit your mistakes." This profile page features a different alum in each issue.

Stories under the "A Cut Above" heading have focused on alumni who excel in the industry, including the heir to a billion-dollar diamond manufacturing business; an alum working to establish video-based teaching aids for the deaf to learn jewelry manufacturing; and a former actress turned gemologist for Jewelry Television.

The Alumni Executive Council has also been able to connect with alumni through a regular column, which features Alumni Executive Council Chair Starla Turner, who stresses the importance of alumni staying involved with GIA.

The Loupe covered GIA's 4th International Gemological Symposium – and the Institute's 75th birthday party – in the Fall 2006 issue of the magazine. GIA file photo

Coverage of Industry Trends, Issues and Events
Russell Shor's "Market Viewpoint" column (see page 15), which discusses industry trends and business issues, has been a popular feature in recent years. Shor discusses these subjects firsthand with industry leaders from around the world, and puts them into context for the Loupe audience.

Another important way to keep readers informed of research and market developments has been by The Loupe's coverage of trade shows and special industry events. The shows are an opportunity for attendees to take in lectures, educational seminars and research updates; those who can't attend can count on a report in the magazine.

The Southern California-based Gemorama show was covered in the first issue, and events like the AGS Conclave, JCK and Tucson gem and mineral shows continue to be covered.

Perhaps the most extensive coverage has been of GIA's International Gemological Symposia, which have occurred every six to seven years since 1982. After the fourth Symposium in 2006, The Loupe dedicated 24 pages to the event and the corresponding, first-ever Gemological Research Conference.

In-kind gifts, like these donated to the Museum's Brazilian Jewelry Collection, are one way the industry has supported GIA. GIA file photo

Much of the coverage in 1997 focused on one of GIA's largest endeavors to date – the move from Santa Monica to Carlsbad. The new campus was named for jeweler Robert Mouawad, after his three sons – two of whom are GIA graduates – made a large gift to the Institute in his name. The Loupe's Winter 1997 issue wrote about the "excitement in the air" during the Mouawad campus dedication, and included an article about sons Pascal, Alain and Fred.

GIA's League of Honor, a decade-long donor recognition program, was commemorated each year from 1995 to 2005 by a dinner and special Loupe coverage of the event. Throughout each year, the magazine profiled League of Honor donors who contributed to GIA's Education and Research activities.

The Loupe also highlights contributions made toward GIA scholarship programs by profiling the students who benefit from them. In an article titled "Gifts That Keep Giving" from the Spring 2007 issue, the magazine profiled scholarship recipients like Cynthia Santiago, the 2007 Michael Beaudry Scholarship recipient who traded in a rewarding career in social services for gems and jewelry.

In-kind gifts have also been important to GIA, and thus, The Loupe, for many years. G.E. donated a group of synthetic dark gray to black diamonds for display and study purposes in 1957, and the November to December issue of that year thanked the company for the stones, which would have sold for $4.25 a carat then.

Rio Grande donated 120 custom-made jewelry benches to the Carlsbad campus 10 years ago. The gift was recognized in the Winter 1997 issue as a way to enhance the Jewelry Manufacturing Arts courses on campus.

The Brazilian Jewelry Collection, comprised of pieces donated from Brazil's top designers and manufacturers, was compiled in 2006 and a photo spread that included each piece appeared in the magazine.

The father and son team behind Amsterdam Sauer, a company that contributed a piece to the Brazilian Jewelry Collection, says they've enjoyed the opportunity to read and be a part of the magazine over the years.

"The Loupe magazine and Amsterdam Sauer have almost the same age: 60 and 66 years, respectively. My father, Jules, and I are very proud to have contributed information about Brazil and its gemstones throughout the years," says Daniel Sauer, G.G., whose father founded their family company in 1941 and built it into a primary gemstone trading company and retail chain in Brazil.

Other areas of the Institute have also benefited from charitable gifts over the years. GIA's Library acquired the 14,000-volume John and Marjorie Sinkankas Gemological and Mineralogical Collection in the late 1980s, and many donors since then have helped to enhance and expand it.

The Sinkankas collection was "the first step in the creation of the Richard T. Liddicoat Library and Information Center," the Winter 1987 to 1988 issue announced. Today, the Library is frequently used by some of the industry's most dedicated researchers, who were featured in the Winter 2007 story "Rock Solid."

The Library and Museum have always helped GIA supply the public and the industry with information, a point that was driven home by the cover story in the Fall 2004 Loupe.

"Getting the Word Out" explained how GIA disseminates information through several avenues to the trade and the general public.

The current Loupe staff includes (from left) Amanda J. Luke, editor; Jaime Kautsky, associate editor; Eric Poulsen, art director; and Emily Stegman, associate editor. Photo by Melissa Jacobs/GIA

Thank you for your time and loyalty to The Loupe and GIA over the years. Our goal has always been to present news and stories that capture your attention and inspire your success in a "friendly, helpful sort of way," as editor Kay Swindler wrote in the first issue in 1947.

Now, as then, we strive to provide you with information you can use to enhance your career. Many of our stories are about people and programs at GIA, but the heart of the magazine beats in the stories about you. Your expertise helps us disseminate GIA's gemological standards. You are an important connection to the public we protect. You bring GIA's mission to life.

This partnership plays out in every issue of The Loupe. Please let us know if there are stories or topics you think would be interesting to read about or that will help you further succeed. I look forward to hearing from you.

Warm regards,
Amanda J. Luke, Editor
amanda.luke@gia.edu

The Evolution of The Loupe
"The Loupe has historically been a publication about what's going on at GIA – and a lot more is going on than ever before," says G&G Editor-in-Chief Alice Keller. "As GIA's influence has expanded worldwide, The Loupe has expanded its coverage to address the myriad issues and activities that the Institute is involved in."

Certainly, there have been many changes to The Loupe throughout its 60-year history – some editorial in nature, some related to design, and even the magazine's title has changed from time to time. Here's a look at some of those changes as seen in this sampling of Loupe covers.