(Press Release)
NAPLES – The International Gemological Institute (IGI) held a graduation ceremony on June 13 for 25 of its newest graduates. The students received their diplomas following successful completion of their gemological courses and examination. IGI Co-CEO Roland Lorié, together with Paolo Minieri, the director of IGI’s educational branch in Naples, presided over the commemoration.
More than 100 jewelers were present for the event, which was hosted by the Geology and Mineralogy Department of the Universita Degli Studi Di Napoli Federico II and took place in the Royal Mineralogy Museum Hall.
“For the last 20 years, IGI’s education efforts in Italy have helped produce skilled and talented gemologists, designers, graders and professional experts,” says Lorié. “We are proud of these talented individuals and are committed to continuing to advance Italy’s jewelry industry.”
Since its first offering in 1996, IGI’s courses have instructed more than 4,000 students all over Italy, and specifically in Naples, Rome, Cavalese, Catania and Ascoli Piceno, in the intricacies of professional grading in accordance with international standards.
Following the commencement, a new Italian gemological quarterly magazine, Trasparenze News, was introduced with the support of all five IGI Schools of Gemology in Italy. Intended to be an informative and educational magazine for the Italian jewelry community, the publication will be distributed nationwide.
IGI also presented the Napolitano jewelry community with an educational seminar on rubies. The lecture specifically covered the meaning of the term "pigeon blood," which denotes the brightest and most valuable red colored ruby.