“Since I was a child I was always fascinated by gems, I would sit and watch my mom and other girls work. To this day, my love for the job has not changed.”By Rabindra Rooplall“Every diamond is unique. Each reflects the story of its arduous journey from deep inside the earth to a cherished object of adornment. A diamond is a testament of endurance and strength and the ultimate symbol of love.”There are not many persons who could give you a better feel for diamonds than the person who made the aforementioned assertion,Wholesale Jerseys 2018, Gemologist Deborah Phillipe-Archer.But it’s not just her love of diamonds that has positioned her as a respected name in the field. In her three decades of work, she has assisted untold persons from being duped into buying imitations of the precious mineral known famously as “a girl’s best friend”, the diamond.Indeed, diamonds are Deborah’s best friend, and it was her Mom’s too.A second generation gemologist following in her mother’s footsteps, Deborah Phillipe was born in Georgetown. She attended St Angela’s Primary and later graduated from St Joseph High School. She left Guyana at the age of 18 to attend the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in California, USA, to follow her dream of becoming a gemologist. She graduated with a Diploma in Jewellery Arts in 1981. However, she did not explore a jewellery designing career until 2002.Studying was not a task she could take lightly.“My dad was a no-nonsense man, so I didn’t get breaks between my courses at the GIA. He knew the principal, since my mom had also attended the same institution,” she recalled.Once she had completed the Jewellery Arts programme, she wanted to move on, but there was no space available in the gemology course, so she enrolled in Gem Cutting instead, and later received a certificate in Diamond Grading.“I was a natural, and totally enjoyed that programme. Since I was the only female in the class,Cheap Hockey Jerseys, I was usually given the prettiest stones to cut,Jerseys NBA China,” she said with a bright smile.Every diamond is unique! Deborah spends a lot of time grading the precious stonesTwo weeks into the coloured stones phase of the programme, her father, Anthony Phillipe passed away and she returned to Guyana for his funeral.“Upon my return to California I had to wait on a new programme to start, so I tried two weeks of Hand Engraving, but I’m out of tune with that at present.”With determination as hard as the diamonds she grades, Deborah continued Gemology with another batch of students and graduated with a Diploma, gaining the title of Graduate Gemologist (GG) on October 22, 1982. In 2001 she upgraded herself in Advanced Diamonds and Synthetic Diamonds.“From time to time while on holidays I spent time doing labs (grading diamonds) at the GIA or at a friend’s business to keep up with the fast-moving technology of the jewellery industry. Back in Guyana after my studies, I first landed a job, not in gemology,Cheap NFL Football Jerseys, but in screen printing, with Brian Gittens and Beverley Harper, my mentors. Thereafter, I began my career in gemology in earnest, with Enachu Diamond Traders, under the watchful eyes of my mother, Waveney Phillipe. She had more confidence in me than I had in myself.”It didn’t take too long for Deborah to prove that all that studying actually stuck.“One time a known customer from Berbice came in with what looked like a 3-carat polished stone and placed it in my hand. I thought I was being tested since the stone was not a diamond but a cubic zirconia (CZ). So I blurted out CZ. My mother told me, sternly, to go with the customer and check it. I would have been embarrassed if I was incorrect.”But she was not. It turned out that the stone was indeed a cubic zirconia.“The poor customer almost fainted. It was the ‘80s and CZs were the latest lookalike diamond substitute on the market. It was new to Guyana, but during my Gem Cutting course I had to practice on CZs so I was familiar with them.”She said presently fraudsters do not use CZs to fool persons, but a rear mineral, Moissanite. However, a simple magnifier will show doubling which will reveal that they are not diamonds.Lion Phillipe-Archer (at right) performing her civic duty“I try to keep myself updated by newsletters on new methods of Colour and Clarity Enhancing Treatments and how they are detected. The biggest challenge is the new Synthetic Colourless Diamond (SCD). Sale of SCDs is available to customers via the internet. SCDs are priced at about 25% below the cost of a natural diamond and are mostly set and marketed in wedding jewellery.”Her future in relation to Gemology is to expand it into education. Ms. Phillipe-Archer noted that she will soon be conducting seminars on diamonds and coloured st