Do others agree that the ISG training is good?
I would suggest that one hits the site and see…
Robert James has tried to do his thing though various venues… For
a while…he tried to clean up the crap on Ebay… This earned him
much vilification…(no surprise…) He has a lot of solid gemologic
info on his site that he does not charge for…
I have not taken his course…
I have sent him contributions…
He doesn’t do jewelry per se
He does the stones… Please do not think I am knocking GIA…
I went through the A.J.P. program at GIA online (proctored exams,
yet)… Learned that jewelry is way more than Class Rings and
that diamond you have to buy your special lady (or get…if you are
the special lady)…
Jewelry, Diamond, and Colored Stone… Well organized…lotta push
on the sales aspect…
Way more expensive than ISG… And, no…as far as I know, there
isn’t anything comparable to A.J.P. at ISG…
He does the stones…and that’s what Robert James does…
Wouldn’t trade the GIA A.J.P. course for anything… Puts all of the
things together…
Mind you…just my opinion…
Hit his site…make your own decision…
Gary W. Bourbonais
A.J.P. (GIA)
Elaine is this published anywhere, I've never heard this before!
I don’t have a citation for you, but it’s published, perhaps more in
the mineralogical literature than the gemological (though I believe
I first read about it in an issue of “Gems and Gemology” years ago),
since the known examples of natural CZ are exceedingly small grains
imbedded in certain meteorites. The crystals found are way too small
for any sort of gem use, but the existance of even microscopic sized
crystals is enough for one to be able to state correctly, that there
is indeed a naturally occuring form of cubic zirconia, and that
therefor, to be strictly correct, one should refer to the synthetic
cubic zirconia including the word synthetic.
but for all practical real life purposes, I think jewelry people can
be excused for not making that fine distinction, since there is not
any naturally occuring cubic zirconia that will be likely to show up
in the cut gemstone market. the natural crystals found were, if I
recall, mostly smaller than about a millimieter across, maybe
smaller (not sure).
Peter Rowe
Do others agree that the ISG training is good?
Noel,
While I can’t vouch for the actual quality of ISG training, not
having examined the actual training, there seems little doubt that
Robert James is well qualified to provide that training, and from
simply perusing his web site, as well as past experience with his
prior postings to the internet (including Orchid), My guess is that
it’s likely quite good.
Whether it goes into the same level of detail as GIA, or is written
as well, I can’t say. One of the hallmarks of the GIA coursework is
that the written materials in particular have been extensively honed
and refined, with pretty much every word carefully chosen, as is the
overall structure of the lessons, and graphic layouts, and all the
rest. GIA has won awards for the effectiveness of their
correspondence materials. The result is a highly efficient course
that is very good at teaching, and even more, good at creating long
term retention of the material over time. Considering that GIA has
been refining and fine tuning it’s courses with a large staff, for
many decades now, It’s doubful that the ISG material can have been as
carefully fine tuned for it’s educational effectiveness, even if the
material itself is very complete and accurate. And likely, one can
expect that there is not going to be the level of industry
recognition of training from ISG, at least at this point, as one
gets with a GIA diploma.
But aside from those potential cautions, I’d expect it to be quite
good, and certainly a good deal for the money, especially for those
who don’t wish to do their own research and learn it totally on
their own (which is also very possible, simply using existing
published books and
Peter Rowe
Do others agree that the ISG training is good?
I wouldn’t take it for career preparation. If a person wants to work
in the jewelry industry, GIA is still the only game in town.
Elaine
Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com ™
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay
I am a little surprised that no one has pointed this out.
The Presidium Duo Tester doesn’t measure the refractive index. It
measures the “relative reflectivity” of a stone. While it is true
that the reflectivity corresponds with refractive index of well
polished stones with a flat surface, there are other related
properties that would be better measured with a refractometer. Note
double refraction and birefringence. Although it is a very
interesting instrument, it is not “recommended” by the GIA. Perhaps
because the relative reflectivity meter was first developed by the
GIA’s nemesis, Dr. Hanneman, a Phd that doesn’t believe in paying an
extraordinarily high price to do basic research that can be done on
the cheap. A very interesting and affordable book can be found at
http://www.mineralab.com/Gemology.htm
Bruce D. Holmgrain
Goldwerx
http://www.goldwerx.com
@Red_Rodder
JA Certified Master Benchjeweler, CAD/CAM Services
James in SoFl,
Hi I really was impressed with your comments, eventhough it only
helped a little. You couldn’t be more right taking the first step
into gemology. I can’t understand all of the comments, and so I can
tell how important an education is. thanks