Mimi Ou Yang (Ou Yang Qiumei or Ou Yang Chiu Mei) , a revered jade expert, gemmologist, and mineralogist, passed away in Hong Kong China at the age of 93. She was widely recognised for her lasting influence on the city’s jewellery sector and the global jade trade. Professor Ou Yang Qiumei spent her life advancing the understanding and appreciation of jadeite. Due to her pioneering efforts to modernize and elevate the jade industry, the jewelry industry affectionally called her “The Jade Lady.”
Mimi Ou Yang entered the gemstone industry after initially obtaining gemological diplomas from both the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A, FGA) and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA, G.G). During the next few years, Professor Ou Yang obtained her Master’s Degree from the University of Hong Kong and became the first mineralogist to discover a form of sodium chromium peroxide.
In 1989, she was instrumental in forging links between important Western gemological experts and Wuhan’s China University of Geosciences, which led to the establishment of mainland China’s first training facility for international gemologists. Ten years later, she became the first person from Hong Kong to be awarded the title of Honorary Fellow of the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences. She was also a member of AIGS Advisory Board.
Ou Yang has also authored many gemological books including Jade Identification, Ruby and Sapphire Appreciation, Jadeite ABC, Selecting Jadeite and The Jade Collection, with the latter being an accumulation of over thirty years of work. In addition, she has also contributed over one hundred published research papers and articles.
