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Lecture Synopses

BioRWH crossing a border

A native of the United States, Richard Hughes has spent many years in Asia, where his interest in precious stones was first kindled. Today he is Gemological Administrator and Webmaster at the American Gem Trade Association Gemological Testing Center.

Traveling to scores of countries in search of precious stones, Richard Hughes has authored two books and more than a hundred articles on all aspects of the gem and jewelry trades. His work can be found at ruby-sapphire.com, palagems.com, ganoksin.com and agta-gtc.com.

Richard is not afraid to speak his mind and his writings and lectures are typically peppered with piquant political comments. Agree or disagree, there is no question his work is among the most passionate in the world of gems, which is perhaps why it has attracted such a strong following.

Lecture Requirements

Richard's lectures are multimedia-based and thus require the sponsor to provide both a digital projector and a public-address sound system. Richard will bring his own Mac laptop, but it is recommended that an additional Mac laptop be on hand in case of failure. In addition, a cable connecting the sound-out jack of the Mac laptop (a mini-jack identical to that which iPod headphones plug into) to the PA system will be required.

Lecture Synopses

Over the past two decades, Richard Hughes has given more than 100 presentations around the world. If your group is interested in having Richard speak, please contact him. Click here to see a letter from the Bowers Museum regarding Richard's June 2007 lecture there.

People & Places: New Directions in East African GemologyPeople & Places title

Gemology is tired. Weary. Stumbling.

Gemologists are privileged to work with some of the most stunning and romantic objects on the planet – singular marvels of extraordinary beauty and wonder. And yet all we do is analyze, torturing beauty until the extraordinary is reduced to an entirely ordinary set of chemicals, numbers and digits, abstractions with no relation to the reasons why people purchase precious stones. At this point, we have broken the butterfly upon the wheel.

Attention! We are told if a Paraíba tourmaline is really a "Paraíba tourmaline" we must analyze it. And yet no one has ever gazed upon a fine Paraíba stone and declared: "Oh sweet jesus, look at that copper!" No instrument can see with our eyes, none can detect our emotions, and yet we surrender our senses to these abstractions simply because they possess the faint whiff of "science."

Which instrument feels feeling? What tool measures emotion? Few are willing to ask these questions because the answer falls outside the realm of scientific gemology. And yet the questions are crucial to our field.

Gemology is not simply science. People acquire precious stones because of passions, not properties. If we wish to understand desire, we must look to art, not science. We must make a connection with the people and places these gems come from.

Richard Hughes will delve into these issues via a dramatic multimedia presentation that explores the corundum and tanzanite deposits of Tanzania. It will provide inspiration, a new direction into the neglected, nether regions of gemology. Those who have seen Richard’s recent programs know that his blend of imagery and sound is not to be missed.

 

 

People & Places: New Directions in Gemology

Let Sporus tremble –
"What? that thing of silk,
Sporus, that mere white curd of ass's milk?
Satire or sense, alas! can Sporus feel?
Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?"

Yet let me flap this bug with gilded wings,
This painted child of dirt that stinks and stings;
Whose buzz the witty and the fair annoys,
Yet wit ne'er tastes, and beauty ne'r enjoys…

Alexander Pope
Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot
January, 1735

Gemology is tired. Weary. Stumbling.

Gemologists are privileged to work with some of the most stunning and romantic objects on the planet – singular marvels of extraordinary beauty and wonder. And yet all we do is analyze. Break it down. Torture beauty until the extraordinary is reduced to an entirely ordinary set of chemicals, numbers and digits, abstractions with no relation to the reasons why people purchase precious stones. At this point, we have broken the butterfly upon the wheel. People & Places title

Attention! We are told if a Paraíba tourmaline is really a "Paraíba tourmaline," we must analyze it. And yet no one has ever gazed upon a fine Paraíba tourmaline and declared: "Oh sweet jesus, look at that copper content!" No instrument can see with our eyes, none can detect our emotions, and yet we surrender our senses to these abstractions simply because they possess the faint whiff of "science."

Which instrument feels feeling? What tool measures emotion? Precisely what implement can detect the response one gets when viewing a fine Burma ruby and a lesser stone from Thailand?

Few are willing to ask these questions because the answer falls outside the realm of scientific gemology. And yet the answers are crucial to our field.

Gemology is not simply science. Much of it involves plunging into a pool where depth cannot be fathomed, where one floats not upon intellect, but raw emotion.

People acquire precious stones because of passions, not properties. If we wish to understand desire, we must look to art, not science, we must make a connection with the people and places these gems come from.

Richard Hughes will delve into these issues via a dramatic multimedia presentation that covers ground all the way from Manhattan to Russia's emerald mines, Madagascar's sapphire and Tajikistan's remote ruby and spinel deposits.

It will provide inspiration, a new direction into the neglected, nether regions of gemology. The butterfly is broken, but it can fly again if we are willing to patch those gilded wings.

 

Richard Hughes in Tucson

G is for Gem (not 'ology')

At AGTA GemFair™ Tucson, 2007, Richard Hughes discusses the present and future directions of gemology. Photo: Dana Schorr.

Ron Ringsrud

Ron Ringsrud joins Richard Hughes at his presentation at AGTA GemFair™ Tucson, 2007.
Photo: Dana Schorr.

Jade: Stone of Heaven

by Richard W. Hughes

Jade: Stone of HeavenKnown to the Chinese as the "Stone of Heaven," jade is one of mankind's most beguiling gemstones. While the term "jade" includes both nephrite and jadeite, only jadeite occurs in the coveted "imperial" type, and for this the world has but one source, Upper Burma. It is these mines which are the subject of this program.

Burma's center of jade mining is the small town of Hpakan. Fortune-seekers from all over Asia are drawn to the mines and the heady atmosphere is one of the gold rush days of the old American West. Famous in Burma as "Little Hong Kong," Hpakan offers Hennessy cognac, Rolex watches, French perfume and much more. This is all the more amazing considering it is located amidst some of the most impenetrable jungle on the planet.

In 1996, Richard Hughes was a member of the first foreign gemological party allowed into these mines in over 30 years and has since visited the mines a further two times. He will regale participants with a first-hand account of the mining and trading of this fascinating gemstone.

Pigeon's Blood: Burma's Mogok Ruby Mines

by Richard W. Hughes

Pigeon's BloodThe date is 1885 and the location is Burma. Britain, Lower Burma's colonial masters, have just learned that the French have signed a commercial agreement with the Burmese monarchy in Upper Burma. The prospect is so frightening that England quickly raises an army for invasion; in just a few short months they sit atop the entire length and breadth of the country and Burma's monarchy is relegated to the dustbin of history.

What was it that the British were so afraid of the French possessing? In a word, rubies. Since time immemorial, Burma's Mogok Stone Tract has been synonymous with but one thing – pigeon's blood rubies, and the British could not stand the idea that their French rivals might gain control of this most precious commodity. In recent years, Burma's brutal military junta has once again begun to allow foreigners to visit Mogok. Richard Hughes has made three visits to Mogok in the past few years. He will describe the history of rubies in Burma, from early times to the present, explaining just why these stones have been the source of envy of nations across the globe.

 

Click here to see a list of some previous lectures

 

Others

Below are some of the groups Richard has addressed over the past two decades.

 

dingbat

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© 1997–2008 Richard W. Hughes/RWH Publishing & Books; all rights reserved.

Users may download this information for their own private, non-commercial use.

Other reproduction (text or graphics) without the express written consent of Richard W. Hughes is strictly prohibited.

Ruby-Sapphire.com is dedicated to the free exchange of ideas on gems, gemology, the gem trade and other matters concerning the trade in precious stones and jewelry. Unless otherwise stated, opinions expressed herein are solely those of Richard Hughes/RWH Publishing & Books.

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