Registration Conference of the German Gemmological Association

The next conference of the German Gemmological Association will take place on April 18 and 19, 2026. This weekend's focus will be on pearls and cultured pearls. A lecture series will be held on Saturday, and practical workshops on various topics will be offered on Sunday.

Participation in the lectures and workshops will be free of charge. However, we kindly request that you register in advance, as this is essential for our planning. Please register separately for the get-together on Saturday evening. Costs for the evening programme include food and drinks.

We are pleased to present another outstanding lineup of speakers this year:

Dr. Olga M. Hajduk, art historian at the University of Krakow, Poland, will speak on pearl jewelry from the Renaissance.

Prof. Dr. Stefanos Karampelas, Professor of Gemmology and Mineralogy at the University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and Research Associate at the Laboratoire Français de Gemmologie (LFG) in Paris, France, will discuss in his talk titled "Origin Determination of Natural and Cultured Pearls: From History to Modern Possibilities" the most important pearl-forming mollusc species and present the current possibilities and limitations of origin determination.

Dr. Akitsugu Sato from the SSEF in Switzerland will address saltwater cultured pearls, providing insights into current research projects at the SSEF.

Niels Ruddy Hansen from Copenhagen, Denmark, will report on his travels to freshwater pearl farms in China over the past few years and present the history and current market situation of freshwater cultured pearls.

Christine Matter, Research Associate at the DGemG, will speak on the history of pearls and cultured pearls in general, highlighting developments and key events from antiquity to the modern era.

Dr. Ulrich Henn, also a Research Associate at DGemG, will give a talk titled „Curiosities in Mother-of-Pearl and Pearls“, focusing on rarities such as conch and melo pearls.

Dr. Claudio C. Milisenda, Managing Director of the German Gem Lab (DSEF), will report on the daily research conducted at DSEF, addressing the possibilities of distinguishing between natural and cultured pearls, and specifically the detection of treatments.

Dr. Tom Stephan, Managing Director of DGemG, will give an introductory lecture providing a general overview of pearls and cultured pearls, outlining their properties, formation, and production.

The workshops on Sunday will cover the following topics:

• Microscopic observations to distinguish between natural and cultured pearls, as well as for identifying imitations
• Distinguishing between natural and cultured pearls using X-ray shadow images
• Microscopic identification of treated natural and cultured pearls
• Examination of special pearls such as conch and melo pearls
• Demonstrations of the use of mobile spectrometers in the examination of natural and cultured pearls
• Guided tours of the DSEF laboratory and demonstrations of spectroscopic examination methods

We look forward to your participation!