I see GIA as a future-ready institute anchored in science, powered by technology, and trusted by consumers and the gem and jewelry industry globally. – Pritesh Patel, President & CEO of GIA.
2025 was a year of progress and success for GIA.
In 2025, more than 3,000 dedicated GIA associates across 10 countries worked diligently to maintain the trust of the global gem and jewelry industry and consumers. While facing many of the same challenges as the industry – such as changing consumer expectations, shifting tariffs, and economic and political turmoil – GIA remained committed to its mission of ensuring confidence in gems and jewelry through research, knowledge, and innovation.
GIA welcomed a new President and CEO and greatly expanded its industry-leading colored stone services. We added offerings for jewelry evaluation and introduced updated terminology to more accurately describe the qualities of pearls and laboratory-grown diamonds. The GIA Field Gemology Program reached a significant milestone; GIA scientists examined two of the most remarkable diamonds in history, and we unveiled a new name for the seven GIA schools worldwide.
Expert gemologists and skilled staff in ten grading and identification laboratories examined millions of diamonds, colored stones, and pearls. Talented and dedicated instructors across seven campuses worked to prepare the next generation of industry professionals—gemologists, designers, jewelers, and others. More than 60 researchers and scientific staff in seven research laboratories used their advanced training in gemology, geology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, and other fields to uncover the secrets of gems, deepen understanding of the Earth, and develop advanced instrumentation to meet industry needs. In each location, corporate support teams—covering finance, security, human resources, marketing, and more—applied their skills to keep GIA’s core activities—laboratories, schools, and research centers—operating smoothly.
In August, Pritesh Patel became the seventh leader of the Institute, succeeding Susan Jacques and taking on the roles of President and Chief Executive Officer. When his new role was announced, he said, “It is the honor of a lifetime to lead an institution as trusted and iconic as GIA… I’m inspired by GIA’s legacy of excellence and integrity, and I’m committed to building on that foundation with humility, purpose, and a bold vision for the future.” In his first months, he focused on GIA’s legacy—and future—of innovation and its role as an institution trusted by consumers and the industry. “I see GIA as a future-ready institute anchored in science, powered by technology, and trusted by consumers and the gem and jewelry industry globally.”
Throughout the year, GIA made significant advances in its laboratory services for diamonds, colored stones, and pearls.
On October 1, the Institute introduced revised evaluation services for D-to-Z laboratory-grown diamonds, using descriptive terms instead of the GIA-developed nomenclature that was created decades ago to describe natural diamond characteristics. In announcing the change, Pritesh Patel said, “Using descriptive terms for the quality of laboratory-grown diamonds is appropriate as most fall into a very narrow range of color and clarity… GIA will no longer use the nomenclature created for natural diamonds to describe what is a manufactured product.”
Building on its expertise in developing robust processes to assess the quality of diamonds, colored stones, and pearls, GIA introduced the innovative Jewelry Report service. This service offers detailed insights into the components of submitted jewelry, including metal details, gemstone characteristics, and existing engravings. The GIA Jewelry Report includes metal verification and provides ranges for clarity, color, and carat weight of D-to-Z diamonds that do not have previous GIA reports, specifically for unmounted diamonds. If diamonds already have GIA report numbers, the specific grades will be listed on the report, along with a link to GIA’s Report Check for additional verification. This service further demonstrates GIA’s ongoing commitment to building consumer confidence and trust in jewelry.
Earlier in the year, GIA updated the Institute’s well-established comprehensive pearl classification system, the GIA 7 Pearl Value Factors, by incorporating a new method for assessing nacre on all pearl classification reports. Driven by observations and requests from members of the global pearl trade, the new scale describes and classifies the continuity and quality of nacre in a way that aligns more closely with other quality factors. During evaluation, skilled GIA gemologists examine the extent of eye-visible movement (nacre variation) on the surface or sub-surface layers of nacre, as well as inspecting wear, damage, modifications, treatments, and trade standards for thickness. The updated scale includes GIA’s five classification ranges: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor. With this update, most pearls submitted will now be classified as having “Good,” rather than “Acceptable” under the previous scale.
Late in 2025, GIA announced major updates to its services for colored stones. The Institute announced that starting in January 2026, it would introduce redesigned reports for colored stone services featuring a more modern design that highlights the most relevant gemological information, making it easier for the trade and consumers to understand the unique qualities that tell each gem’s story. At the same time, GIA added opal, peridot, and demantoid garnet to the list of gems eligible for geographic origin services. This expansion builds on the previously offered origin services for alexandrite, emerald, Paraíba tourmaline, red spinel, ruby, and sapphire. Earlier in 2025, GIA began offering country-of-origin determination for untreated jadeite jade and omphacite jade from Myanmar (Burma) and Guatemala, building on the 2023 introduction of the GIA Jade Report, which features a streamlined format and a dedicated section under “Results” that, when appropriate, includes the common trade term “Fei Cui.”
Regarding these many enhancements, Shane McClure, Global Director of Colored Stone Services, highlighted the important role GIA’s Field Gemology Program plays: “Our expanded services are based on GIA’s extensive research and collection of 32,000 samples collected by GIA field gemologists. The Institute started colored stone reporting more than 75 years ago, and since then, researchers and gemologists across our laboratories have developed an industry-leading knowledge.” In January 2025, GIA announced that the field gemology team had completed its 100th expedition, collecting tsavorite, spinel, and sapphire rough in Kenya and Tanzania. The GIA field gemology team has visited all the main ruby, sapphire, emerald, and spinel-producing areas in Asia and Africa. GIA scientists and gemologists have also conducted collection and research trips to gem-producing locations in North and South America.
GIA gemologists and scientists have examined hundreds of famous diamonds, colored stones, and pearls. In 2025, they studied two of the most unique ever seen – the second-largest rough diamond ever discovered and the fifth-largest red diamond, known for its exceptionally pure red color and the only one of its kind on public display.
In July, GIA Executive Vice President and Chief Research and Laboratory Officer Tom Moses and Vice President of Research and Development Dr. Wuyi Wang, along with staff at the GIA laboratory in Gaborone, Botswana, examined a rough diamond weighing 2,488.32 carats—nearly 1.10 pounds (0.498 kilograms). Recovered in August 2024 by the Lucara Diamond Corporation at the Karowe mine in Botswana, the remarkable diamond was named Motswedi, which means water spring or source in Setswana, the national language of Botswana,through a public competition. The examination confirmed that the Motswedi is a single gem-quality crystal, a type IIa diamond with no detectable nitrogen. According to Dr. Wuyi Wang, it is the largest known single crystal diamond in existence.
Earlier in 2025, a team of GIA scientists, collaborating with colleagues from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Department of Mineral Sciences and a curator from the Paris School of Mines, examined the Winston Red diamond—a rare 2.33-carat red diamond that is the fifth-largest known diamond with such an exceptionally pure red color. Describing the diamond, Dr. Ulrika D’Haenens-Johansson, senior manager of diamond research at GIA in New York City and part of the team that analyzed it, said, “It’s as if the diamond was squeezed and now is intensely blushing.” The detailed examination of the Winston Red, supported by data from other red diamonds evaluated over several decades by GIA, led to the conclusion that its color results from plastic deformation—subtle changes to the diamond’s crystal structure caused by a long and stressful history beneath the earth’s surface, subjected to tremendous heat and pressure.
To showcase the full range of GIA’s education programs, we officially designated the seven GIA global schools as the GIA School of Gemology and Jewelry Arts. This, along with plans to expand campuses in Taiwan, London, and New York, emphasizes GIA’s commitment to training the next generation of gem and jewelry professionals and providing current industry workers with valuable, ongoing professional development opportunities.
2025 saw significant developments across all key aspects of GIA’s work to ensure confidence and trust in gems and jewelry. As the Institute approaches the centennial of its founding in 1931, we can anticipate further advancements from the nearly 100-year-old organization.
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