Internationally respected gemologist, author, and lecturer Edward J. Gübelin has established a fund at the Gemological Institute of America in conjunction with the organization’s Endowment Campaign. The donation will benefit the Institute’s quarterly professional journal, Gems & Gemology (G&G), by supporting the “Most Valuable Article Award” named in his honor in 1997.

In recognition of the gift, Gübelin will be inducted into GIA’s prestigious League of Honor in October during the annual dinner held in New York City. The League of Honor is a distinction reserved for organizations and industry leaders who have contributed $100,000 or more to support GIA’s mission as a nonprofit public service organization.

The Dr. Edward J. Gübelin Gems & Gemology Most Valuable Article Award Fund is used to recognize the authors of the three G&G articles that readers find most helpful each year. This year’s winners were featured in the Spring 2003 issue, which was dedicated to Gübelin’s 60-plus years of gemological accomplishments.

“I was truly touched when GIA named the Most Valuable Article Award in my name and I wanted to establish the necessary fund so this award may continue as long as Gems & Gemology is published,” Dr. Gübelin said. “I have always intended to present this fund in connection with Easter in the year of my 90th birthday. Not completely for religious reasons, but rather, because Easter is the feast of hope. With this thought, I am truly hopeful that Gems & Gemology will last for many years to come.”

Gübelin was born to a watchmaker family in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1913. He studied at the Zurich and Vienna Universities, earning a Ph.D. in mineralogy in 1938. Gübelin then traveled to the U.S. to study at GIA, where he was one of the first resident students. He acquired the title of Certified Gemologist (C.G.) in 1939. After returning to the family business, Dr. Gübelin began his famous work with gemstone inclusions, and has since been the recipient of many acclaimed industry awards. He has kept a close association with the Gübelin Gem Lab and continues his research today, even though he retired in 1976.

Over the course of his career, Gübelin has authored several books and hundreds of papers. He wrote his first of 57 articles for Gems & Gemology in 1940, and his last contribution was published in the Spring 2003 issue. He has lectured at numerous industry conferences, and has been awarded honorary memberships in almost every gemological association in the world.

JCK