Two of the Gemological Institute of America’s most-respected authorities have been invited to speak at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, one of Southern California’s finest museums. The lectures will be held in conjunction with an exhibit entitled, “Gems! The Art and Nature of Precious Stones,” on display from Feb. 16-June 2. The exhibit features one of the world’s largest comprehensive private collections of gemstones by renowned collector Michael Scott.

GIA’s Museum Director Elise Misiorowski, a noted jewelry historian and authority on estate jewelry, will present an overview and comparison of early and late 20th Century jewelry at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at the Bowers Museum. Misiorowski’s lecture, “The Turn of Two Centuries: Jewelry Then and Now,” will focus on the social aspects of jewelry wear and the typical gemstones in use during the elegant Edwardian Age and at the start of the 20th Century. This event is free and open to the public, and takes place in the conference center of the museum. Seating is limited. Please contact Nan Ducolon at 714-523-5293 for additional information or to reserve a seat.

John Koivula, GIA’s chief research gemologist and well-known author of gemological books, will give a presentation from 2-2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 16 on the internal beauty of gemstones. His discussion, “Internal World of Gemstones,” will focus on gemstone inclusions and microscopy, and features samples of his award-winning photomicrographs. This event is free with a Bowers admission or membership; otherwise the cost for the lecture is $5. Koivula’s talk will be held in the FHP Healthcare/Robert Gumbiner Conference Center at the museum, where seating is limited.

GIA is a sponsor of the lecture series, which kicked off with a speech given by Bowers President Peter Keller on Jan. 23. Other speakers featured in the series include artist Bernd Munsteiner, collector Michael Scott, renowned gemology expert and author John Sinkankas, curator from the Smithsonian Institution Jeff Post, and silversmith artist John Marshall. The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art is in Santa Ana, Calif. For more information, or to reserve a seat, please call 714-567-3600, or visit the Web site at www.bowers.org.

JCK