A gem dealer's journal

Hey Loungers, Today we have the pleasure of concluding the Microteers Arc by interviewing the Light Bender and third Microteer: GIA’s Nathan Renfro! Nathan is a talented and outspoken gemmologist, excellent photographer of course, one of the three legendary Microteers and disciple of the Titan: John Koivula himself! Today we have the opportunity to learn more about Nathan with this interview! Nathan, the floor is yours!   AsiaLounges: First of all thank you very much for agreeing to being with us today Nathan. Can you tell us more about yourself? Who are you Nathan Renfro? Nathan Renfro: Well, I am...

Hey Loungers, Today we start one of our rare twin interviews! Following our intrusion in the fascinating world of Nomad’s we are inviting ourselves today behind the scene of their social media management and their photographic studio. We start this twin interview by submitting Nomad’s Social Media Manager and daughter to the iconic stripe bearer of the gem trade, Mikola Kukharuk: the talented Maria Arkhipova! Maria, the floor is yours!   We welcome today Maria Arkhipova, here seen in a self portrait - Photo Credits: Nomads Co., Ltd   AsiaLounges: Hi Maria, thank you very much for being with us today...

Hey Loungers, Some of you may know today’s guest as GIA’s Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library & Information Center’s director. Others know him for his career as a world famous photographer and one of the first modern journalists of the gem trade. We had the pleasure to meet with him moments after he was awarded with the coveted 2020 Antonio C. Bonanno Award in Tucson, in recognition of his contributions to the gem trade’s development in his decades-long career. Today, we welcome the man that made Bartholomew the Rat an instant celebrity in 2018 on Facebook: Mr Robert Weldon!  ...

Hey Loungers, By now we have all heard of the legendary Lotus Gemology team. We all know via papers and interviews, the ruby & sapphire colossus, Richard W. Hughes, and his equally talented daughter, E. Billie Hughes. Yet little is known about the missing link in that trinity. Wimon Manorotkul is not only a talented gemmologist in her own right, and a skilled photographer to boot, But she is arguably the person that brought the other two members of her family to the world of gems. You read that right, she is the one who enrolled Richard for his first...

Hey Loungers, Today we’re happy to introduce you to one of the many people working in the shadows for the trade. Today, we have the pleasure of interviewing one of the famous scouts and gem hunters the trade relies on. Today we interview the man who, in his own words, is living the dream. Some of you may have seen him in recent years alongside Vincent Pardieu in expeditions, talking to prominent gem dealers about securing rough gemstones half way around the globe or sharing pictures of his ranch on internet during his down time. Today we propose you to...