How to Build a Home Gemology Laboratory

The thought of grading and identifying gems may seem truly daunting for beginners. Tools can be expensive and setting up a laboratory sounds like something best reserved for professionals. The truth, however, is that you don’t need to invest a fortune to have a gemology lab of your own. You will need to invest some money in tools, but there are ways to keep the costs to a minimum. Below is an outline of what you need to set up a gem lab. You may be surprised that this is easily within your reach!

The Basics

Both gems and lab equipment are small, so setting up a laboratory does not require a large area. In fact, a corner of a room is plenty of space. If you cannot dedicate a corner of your room, you could even use a desk, table, or bench that is normally used for other purposes.

Your lab equipment should be near at hand to make examining gems as quick and easy as possible. (See Tools of the Gemologist for more information.) They do not need to be permanently set up, just easily accessible, so storing them…

Donald Clark, CSM IMG

Donald Clark, CSM founded the International Gem Society in 1998. Donald started in the gem and jewelry industry in 1976. He received his formal gemology training from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the American Society of Gemcutters (ASG). The letters “CSM” after his name stood for Certified Supreme Master Gemcutter, a designation of Wykoff’s ASG which has often been referred to as the doctorate of gem cutting. The American Society of Gemcutters only had 54 people reach this level. Along with dozens of articles for leading trade magazines, Donald authored the book Modern Faceting, the Easy Way.

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