Skip to main content

Ask A Gemologist - Eunice R. Miles

Today’s question is about diamond treatments, fillers, diamond look-alikes and making a difference. Before we begin, let me emphasize the obvious: During general observation, always check for coated diamonds first!

Fooled you - this segment is about reminding our readers how women continue to make a difference in the jewelry industry. Recently during the Las Vegas show a question came up about Eunice Miles. My first thought, that would be a great segment for Ask A Gemologist.

Eunice R. Miles, G.G., 1917 - 1997, was the first female gemologist/researcher in the GIA Laboratory. Her GIA career began in 1953. She made history by becoming the first woman to join then GIA’s Gem Trade Laboratory, in New York. In 1963 she did it again when Gems and Gemology (Winter 1962–63, Vol. 10, No. 12, pp. 355–364, 383) published her article Diamond-Coating Techniques and Methods of Detection.

In 1963, she was acknowledged in the U.S. Department of Mines annual report for advancing diamond research with her two-year investigation into detecting coated diamonds. Later, the FBI used her data to arrest a major coated-diamond dealer.

In her words, the article’s objective was “to present for the first time in print a discussion of the practice of raising the color grade of certain diamonds to near-colorless by disguising the true light-yellow or brown body color by the application of a foreign substance to the surface of the stone.”

Eunice’s commendations demonstrate her professional diversify as a gemologist, designer, educator, and writer. In 1984 Eunice was elected an honorary fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, now Gem-A. In 1985 she became an honorary member of the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA). In 1985 the International Society of Appraisers (ISA) presented Eunice with its “Gems and Jewelry Industry Service Award,” and in 1986 GIA named Eunice as the first recipient of the “Eunice Miles Lifetime Achievement in Gemology” award.

In 1987 the Women’s Jewelry Association inducted Eunice Miles into its Hall of Fame.

The Manhattan Chapter of the GIA Alumni Association honored Eunice in 1988. Under the leadership of Gail Brett Levine, of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers (NAJA), the Eunice Miles Scholarship Fund was founded. Each year the Chapter contributes to the fund to assist students attending GIA to further their educational endeavors.

So . . . let’s take a moment and look around our industry today. Who are the women you know making a difference? Maybe it’s you! Have you considered what your legacy will be? Don’t worry, you don’t need to focus on your legacy just do what Eunice Miles did, give it your best every day, love what you do, and continue to share your enthusiasm for life. The rest will take care of it’s self, it’s inevitable.

You too may be making history right now!

(This post appeared in Fall 2014 edition, WJA News San Diego)

Comments

Most Popular of All Time

The Birth of a Cubs Legend

In this episode, The 162-Game Exhale — and the Birth of a Cubs Legend There’s a hush in the baseball world on Game 162 — a collective breath drawn in and slowly released. Scoreboards stop flipping. Dugouts empty. For six months, the game has been our steady heartbeat, pulsing from the cherry blossoms of Tokyo in March to the crisp, playoff-charged winds of late September. And now, as the regular season exhales, baseball fans everywhere pause to absorb the story we’ve just lived. For me, that story has been deeply personal. This season unfolded in the rhythms of my daily life. It was the summer soundtrack echoing beneath the constant turmoil of politics and sensational headlines. It was a handful of carefully chosen ballpark pilgrimages stitched together with countless nights in front of MLB.TV. And at the center of it all, for a lifelong Cubs fan like me, it revolved around one name — a young center fielder who turned hope into history: Pete Crow-Armstrong. The 2025 season didn’t begin...

Paris – the End of Silence

✈️  In this special episode: Paris – the End of Silence Sometimes, connection arrives in the most unexpected form—not through grand gestures, but through a quiet voice carried by technology. In a Paris apartment, I finally understood my family’s words . . . and felt my mother’s presence in every sentence. Since I was a little boy, France has been both a beautiful and frustrating paradox in my life. Every six to nine years, my mother, Mauricette, would take my brothers and me back to La Rochelle to visit our French family. The moment we arrived, the air would fill with a sound I loved but couldn’t share in—the rapid-fire, musical rhythm of French. My aunts, uncles, and cousins would warmly sweep me into hugs and kisses, their words flowing like a lovely melody I couldn’t quite catch. I’d smile brightly, trying to communicate with my eyes and hands. But as soon as we stepped off the plane, my mother and her sister-in-law, Joséan, started talking animatedly. They were gone, chatting h...

Pushing the Pause Button

In this episode, Pushing the Pause Button: Stepping Off the Treadmill Hello, friends — If you're reading this, I'm already off the grid. Today begins a much-needed vacation, and for the next few weeks, On the Fly is taking a break right along with me. For a long time, my inner voice has said, 'Keep every commitment, no matter what.' That's meant early mornings, long days, and a calendar packed with posts, podcasts, and projects I couldn't seem to say no to. I've been trying to be the tireless workhorse—but that kind of grind doesn't end well. Lately, I've noticed I'm not quite myself—shorter fuse, louder sighs, and a few too many grumbles (Lori deserves a medal). That's when you know it's time to hit pause before the spark burns out. So, I'm stepping back to rest, recharge, and remember what it feels like to not live by the next deadline: no tech, no to-do lists, just some space to breathe. Thank you, truly, for all your support and ...

The Friday Morning Pause

In this episode,  The Friday Morning Pause: When My Brother’s Bookshelf Called Me to Stillness We live in a world allergic to stillness. Our mornings begin mid-sprint—thumbs scrolling before our eyes even open. The impulse to jump into the digital chaos is immediate. But sometimes, stillness finds you . It was early Friday morning. We’d arrived late the night before, stepping into the cool air before the day turned hot. Half-awake, I reached for my phone—emails, headlines, social feeds waiting like a morning buffet of distraction. We were in Cuba. No Wi-Fi. No 5G. No password. Just stillness, disguised as inconvenience. Instead, I caught sight of something unexpected: a small stack of books on my brother’s TV shelf. My brother and his wife are powered by perpetual motion. They are the definition of overscheduled and overstimulated. Yet there it was: Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday, quietly mocking my scrolling habit. The irony was perfect. I put my phone down—a small, delibe...