A short autobiography of Richard Hughes' life in gems and gemology. From the introduction to his 2017 book, Ruby & Sapphire: A Gemologist's Guide.
An essay on how gemology, in focusing solely on analysis, has lost sight of the most important part of a gem – its beauty.
A discussion of the definition of padparadscha sapphire, from early to modern times, along with the difficulty in standardizing such definitions.
The history of glass-infilling in blue sapphire, along with a description of the latest treatment generation developed in Chanthaburi, Thailand.
The mining of natural red andesine in Tibet has been a subject of controversy. This article describes RWH's second visit to the Tibetan deposit.
An investigation into nephrite and imitation nephrite pebbles purchased in Guangzhou, China's Hualin Street jade market.
In a tragic underground cave in, Mike Roberts of the Roberts Yogo Sapphire Mine passed away in March 2012.