Author Guidelines

As the award-winning quarterly journal of GIA, Gems & Gemology publishes the latest peer-reviewed research on diamonds and colored stones. These guidelines provide essential information for authors submitting manuscripts for possible publication in Gems & Gemology.

Authors should use the following guidelines when submitting a manuscript to Gems & Gemology, otherwise, the paper may be returned to the author. If you have any questions about these guidelines, please contact Managing Editor Stuart Overlin (soverlin@gia.edu / 760-603-4322).

TOPICS

G&G publishes original articles on gem materials and research in gemology and related fields. Manuscript topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Laboratory or field research
  • Comprehensive reviews of important topics in the field
  • Synthetics, imitations, and treatments
  • Trade issues
  • Recent discoveries or developments in gemology and related fields (e.g., new instruments or identification techniques, gem minerals for the collector, and lapidary techniques)
  • Descriptions of notable gem materials and localities
  • Jewelry manufacturing arts, historical jewelry, and museum exhibits

Authors are also encouraged to contribute to these regular G&G sections:

  • Gem News International (GNI)- very brief reports on new localities, unusual gem materials, or current events in the field. (Word count: 600 maximum)
  • *Book Reviews—reviews of gem and jewelry industry-related books and other media
  • *Gemological Abstracts—summaries of important gemology-related articles published elsewhere.

G&G's Lab Notes section is comprised of reports from GIA's laboratory; this section is open to GIA internal authors only.

*Please contact the Managing Editor if you are interested in submitting book reviews or gemological abstracts.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

  • All manuscripts must be submitted in Standard American English.
  • We will consider articles already published in languages other than English. The authors must first translate the articles into Standard American English and inform us at the time of submittal when and where the article was first published.
  • All text (including tables, figure captions, and references) must be submitted as electronic files in Microsoft Word.
  • Word count: 6,000 maximum (not including tables, illustrations, and references)

The components of the manuscript should be arranged as follows:

Title Page. Should include: (a) article title, (b) full name of each author, (c) each author’s affiliation, and (d) acknowledgments of person(s) who provided assistance to the author(s).

Abstract. Should state the purpose of the article, what was done, and the main conclusions. (Maximum of 150 words)

Body Text. Should follow a clear outline with appropriate headings. Research paper example:

  1. Introduction
  2. Background (e.g., a review of previous studies)
  3. Materials and Methods
  4. Results
  5. Discussion
  6. Conclusion

Use other heads and subheads as the subject matter warrants. Please avoid jargon, spell out the first mention of all nonstandard acronyms, and present your material clearly and concisely.

Important: Papers that describe original research must include a Materials and Methods section that contains the number of samples, a description of the samples, and the techniques and instrumentation used to obtain the data.

About the Authors. Please include a one-sentence biography for each author; the bio should include title, present occupation, and location. For example: Dr. Shigley is a distinguished research fellow at GIA in Carlsbad, California. 

Acknowledgements. Please indicate any non-authors who provided assistance in the research and writing of the manuscript.

References. References should be used to indicate information taken directly from another publication, to document ideas and facts attributed to another writer, and to refer the reader to other sources on a particular subject. References must be cited in the body of the text (in parentheses), with the last name of the author(s) and the year of publication. Add the appropriate page number when citing a direct quote or a specific illustration or piece of data. For example: (Koivula et al., 2000, p. 362).

List references at the end of the paper in alphabetical order by the last name of the senior author. If there is more than one publication by that author or same group of authors, list those items in chronological order, starting with the oldest publication. List only references actually cited in the text (or tables or figures).

Include the following information, in the order given here, for each reference:

  1. All author names (surnames followed by initials)
  2. Year of publication, in parentheses
  3. Title
    1. Journal – the full title of the article cited
    2. Book – the full title of the book cited
  4. After Title
    1. i. Journal – the full title of the journal plus volume number, issue number, and inclusive page numbers of the article cited
    2. ii. Book – the publisher of the book and the city/state or country of publication Web pages without other publication data-include the date accessed; and the digital object identifier (DOI), if any

Sample references:

  • Balfour I. (2000) Famous Diamonds. Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd., London.
  • Renfro N., Koivula J.I., Wang W, Roskin G. (2010) Synthetic gem materials in the 2000s: A decade in review. G&G, Vol. 46, No. 4, pp. 260-273, doi:10.5741/GEMS.46.4.260.
  • Levinson A.A. (1998) Diamond sources and their discovery. In G. Harlow, Ed., The Nature of Diamonds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 72-104.
  • Special report on red feldspar, Part 2 (2011) News from Research, www.gia.edu/research- resources/news-from-research/special-issue2 homepage.html, Aug. 1.

Personal communications should be cited in the body of the text, as follows: (G. Rossman, pers. comm., 2010). Permission must be obtained from the person cited. Such persons must also be listed, with their affiliations, in the Acknowledgments section.

Tables. Number tables in the order in which they are cited in the text. Every table should have a title; every column (including the left-hand column) should have a heading. Terms and figures used in the table must be consistent with those used in the text.

Line Illustrations. All line art (graphs, charts, etc.) should be sent as electronic files (EPS and JPG formats preferred). Otherwise, original line art should be clearly drafted and sent. Art that is not original work must be submitted with the appropriate written permission from the copyright holder(s).

Color Photographs. All photos, film or digital, should be previously unpublished and sent in their original form.

  • High-resolution digital files (JPG or TIF) are preferred.
  • Digital files should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (pixels per inch) at 4 × 5 inches (10 × 12 cm).
  • An image that is at least 1200 pixels wide in its original form will generally be of sufficient resolution when printed.
  • Digital figures must be sent as individual files. Do not send them solely as embedded figures within the manuscript file. You may upload large files over 10MB to our FTP site; please contact the Managing Editor for instructions.
  • References to figures and tables must be placed in the text. Figures and tables must be numbered consecutively, starting with the first mention in the text.
  • G&G reserves the right to reject photos that do not meet our production standards. Please contact the Managing Editor if you need help finding appropriate photographers or specimens.

Figure Captions. Include figure captions separately from the figures. Each caption should clearly explain, in complete sentences, the figure and any symbols, arrows, numbers, or abbreviations used therein. Information in captions must be consistent with the text.

Photomicrographs. Please indicate the field of view (or size of the object being photographed) in the figure caption.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

Manuscripts may be submitted by either postal or electronic mail to the address below. Your manuscript package should contain:

  • One (1) copy of article, in Word doc. format or printed on standard-size white paper
  • All photographs, illustrations and tables

Manuscripts will not be sent for review until all of the above have been received. Send all submissions to:

Justin Hunter, Managing Editor, Gems & Gemology
GIA World Headquarters
The Robert Mouawad Campus
5345 Armada Drive
Carlsbad, CA 92008 USA
jhunter@gia.edu

Copyright. GIA acquires worldwide copyright to all submitted material upon publication. Upon submission of a manuscript, G&G will send the author a copyright transfer form, signed by all of the authors. Papers will not be entered into the review process until the signed copyright transfer has been provided to G&G.

It is our policy to allow authors to republish their material in other journals or magazines starting six weeks after first publication in G&G, provided that the original publication in G&G is referenced.

PEER REVIEW – POLICIES & PROCEDURES

  • Each manuscript receives a critical review with regard to its accuracy, readability, interest value, and scientific or educational contribution to the field.
  • Because of the sensitive nature of the information contained in each manuscript, we ask that the material is kept confidential until the article is published.
  • Each manuscript is accompanied with a report sheet, which the reviewer is required to fill out. The reviewer can also attach a list of comments, or write them directly on the manuscript, as appropriate.
  • Manuscripts are examined by the editorial staff and at least three reviewers. Gems & Gemology reviewers typically receive between five and 10 manuscripts a year.
  • Authors are permitted to suggest reviewers for their manuscript. The editors can choose from the list of suggested reviewers at their discretion, or choose alternate reviewers.
  • Authors will remain anonymous to the reviewers, and unless specific permission is given, reviewers will remain anonymous to the authors.
  • All material accepted for publication is subject to copy editing.
  • Authors will receive page proofs for review and are held fully responsible for the content of their articles.
  • Decisions of the editors are final.