The public is invited to explore the world of jade at the Fifth Annual Sinkankas Symposium, to be held Saturday, April 21, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the GIA Robert Mouawad Campus, 5345 Armada Drive in Carlsbad, Calif.  Registration starts at 8 a.m. with coffee and donuts. Lunch is included in the price of admission.

The Sinkankas Symposium is co-hosted by the San Diego Mineral & Gem Society and the Gemological Institute of America. Named in honor of the renowned gemologist, author and lapidary John Sinkankas, the event will devote a full day of discussions, lectures, and demonstrations to this lustrous gem, led by an impressive list of experts in a variety of fields. More than five different local gem and mineral clubs, from Los Angeles to Fallbrook, plan to attend.

The Sinkankas Symposium offers a full day of presentations, covering a wide range of discussions suitable for the novice and expert alike.  Topics will range from types of jade, such as jadeite or nephrite, new discoveries, photography, carving, appraising and many other issues.  Many jade items will be on display as well.

Some of the speakers and their topics include: Fred Ward, National Geographic author and photographer, on Jades of the World; Si Frazier, author, on Nomenclature of Jade; Don Kay of Mason Kay Importers on Burmese Jadeite Jewelry; and John Koivula, GIA gemstone inclusion expert on the Microworld of Jade.

Also on the list is Richard Hughes, author and gem authority, on Burmese Jade Deposits,
Mary Lou Ridinger, Guatemalan jade expert, with the Current Guatemalan Jade Market
and George Rossman, professor and mineralogist at California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) on the Causes of Color in Jade.

Price for admission is $75 per person and April 14 is the deadline for getting a ticket. Past events have sold out. The registration form is available by calling Anne Schafer of the San Diego Mineral & Gem Society at 858.586.1637 or annes@san.rr.com.

JCK