10m 38s: Lenght

In this short video, you’ll witness the fascinating work of GIA’s dedicated Field Gemologists Vincent Pardieu and Andy Lucas as they seek sapphire and lapis lazuli for the institute’s reference collection. With them, you’ll follow Mogok’s miners deep underground. The Mogok valley is unique—no other gem deposit in the world has ever produced such a variety and quantity of exceptional gems over such a long period of time. As Pardieu explains, “Stones are durable, so all the stones that were mined in Mogok over the last thousand years …they are still here…in the market somewhere…maybe in New York, in Paris, in London, in Tokyo…in China. People own them.” Discovered centuries ago, Mogok remains one of the most active gem deposits in the world, and also one of the most secretive. During most of its history it was not accessible to foreigners. Indeed, the area only opened up to gemologists in June of 2013. In the video, GIA takes you to the Mogok valley. The mining area is about 400 miles (650 km) north of Yangon in a densely vegetated, mountainous area rising to 7,700 feet (2,347 meters) above sea level. With an unparalleled reputation as the source of fine gemstones going back more than 800 years, Mogok is known to produce rubies, sapphires, spinel, peridot and many other gems. These GIA Field Expeditions (FE49 and FE50) took place in January 2014. Gemologists Vincent Pardieu and Andy Lucas were accompanied by cameraman Didier Gruel.