Join the team as we open the doors and inaugurate the Gemporia Hall of Fame, where we will be inducting some of the most respected and groundbreaking icons of our industry over two extraordinary weekends.
From some of the well-known greats to some of the hidden gems of the trade, these people have helped shape the gemstone world as we know it today. We can’t wait to share the names of these seminal figures from both the past and present of the jewellery trade, and we hope you can join us for the big reveals soon. Keep an eye on our socials for the most up to date news and reveals on our Hall of Fame celebration. We’re on Facebook (@Gemporia) and Instagram (@Gemporia). We’ve posted clues about the identity of our esteemed professionals for each Hall of Fame show below, so have a scroll down, see how many you can guess and hop over to our social platforms to play along.
The second part of our huge event takes place between Friday 27th May and Sunday 29th May. We hope you can join us for the big reveals.
TAHITIAN CULTURED PEARLS
- Clue 1: This Japanese entrepreneur was born in 1858 in Toba, Japan.
- Clue 2: He used to watch the Pearl divers near his home town and observe their finds when they came ashore.
- Clue 3: His passion for Pearls grew to the point he invented and perfected the first commercially viable method for culturing Pearls.
TAHITIAN PEARLS SHOW - Friday 27th May at 4pm
A DIAMOND IS FOREVER
- Clue 1: This lady worked for an advertising agency in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, between 1943 and 1970.
- Clue 2: She led a campaign for De Beers in 1947 aimed at reinvigorating sales of Diamonds after the Great Depression had crashed the market.
- Clue 3: The slogan she created - ‘A Diamond is Forever’ - was voted the greatest slogan of the 20th century in 1999, and is still in use to this day.
A DIAMOND IS FOREVER SHOW - Saturday 28th May at 9am
TANZANITE
- Clue 1: This gentleman discovered one of the most significant gems of the last 100 years.
- Clue 2: The gem was discovered just a few miles beyond a village called Mtakuja in an East African nation that would give its name to the jewel.
- Clue 3: This vivid indigo-blue gemstone has never been found anywhere else on the planet.
TANZANITE SHOW - Saturday 28th May at 12pm
HIDDENITE
- Clue 1: This gent from Rhode Island started his career as a draughtsman, but his passion for minerals soon overtook this, and he became a full-time geologist.
- Clue 2: On meeting Thomas Edison, he was dispatched to North Carolina to search for platinum, where he instead found a beautiful new green variety of spodumene.
- Clue 3: As well as the vibrant green jewel that bears his name, he also discovered a purple-red variety of Garnet known as Rhodolite.
HIDDENITE SHOW - Saturday 28th May at 4pm
CAPE CHAMPAGNE DIAMONDS
- Clue 1: This fellow was just a 15-year old boy when he made a significant discovery on the banks of the Orange River in South Africa.
- Clue 2: His discovery led to the shifting of global supply in the jewel he found on a scale that still resonates to this day.
- Clue 3: The shiny pebble he discovered is known today as the famous Eureka Diamond.
CAPE CHAMPAGNE DIAMONDS SHOW - Saturday 28th May at 8pm
DEMANTOID GARNET
- Clue 1: This Scandinavian mineralogist was born in 1792 in Finland when it was still a part of the Kingdom of Sweden.
- Clue 2: He discovered several minerals that had not previously been found in Scandinavia or Russia and wrote Finland’s first scientific journal on minerals.
- Clue 3: In 1849, he classified a green gem found in the Ural mountains as a form of Andradite Garnet, suggesting the name Demantoid (‘Diamond like’) for the fiery stone.
DEMANTOID GARNET SHOW - Sunday 29th May at 9am
KUNZITE
- Clue 1: This eminent, self-taught gemologist was born in New York City in 1856 and lived until 1932.
- Clue 2: Among his many achievements in the field, he discovered two gemstones, one of which is named after him.
- Clue 3: At the age of just 23, he was already on the board of Tiffany & Co due to his incredible knowledge and enthusiasm.
KUNZITE SHOW - Sunday 29th May at 8pm
We look forward to your company during this huge event, and look forward to seeing if you can guess who will be taking their permanent place in the Gemporia Hall of Fame.
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