Research & Cocktails: Diamond Origin
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Fairmont Royal York, Library Room
100 Front St. W.
Toronto, ON M5J 1E3, Canada
The GIA Alumni Association invites you to join us for a conversation with Dr. Karen Smit, research scientist at GIA, and Matthew Tratner, director of global business development at GIA, on GIA’s newly launched Diamond Origin Report. A reception will immediately follow the discussion.
Dr. Karen Smit is a research scientist at the GIA laboratory in New York. Her area of expertise is diamond geology and since joining GIA in 2014, she has been closely involved in researching the origin of natural diamonds and their color treatments. She has studied natural diamonds from deposits around the world, including Ellendale (Australia), Zimmi (Sierra Leone), Marange (Zimbabwe) and Victor (Canada). She earned a Master of Science in geochemistry from the University of Cape Town (South Africa) in 2008 and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Alberta (Canada) in 2013.
Matthew Tratner currently serves as director of global business development for GIA. His previous positions include director of membership and sales at Jewelers of America and publisher of National Jeweler. Tratner has over 15 years of jewelry industry experience that spans retail sales, manufacturing, e-commerce, publishing and marketing. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Empire State College and an Applied Jewelry Professional diploma (AJP) from GIA.
