DES – AGIL 2018 International Gemmological Conference Speaker - Evan Caplan

 

DES – AGIL 2018 International Gemmological Conference
香港大學地球科學系–亞洲寶石學院 2018國際寶石學研討會

DES–AGIL 2018國際寶石學研討會
日期:2018年9月16日 (星期日)
時間:上午9時至下午12時半
地點:香港大學道3號香港大學
           研究生堂王賡武講堂
語言:英語及普通話即時傳譯
DES–AGIL 2018 International Gemmological Conference
Date :   16th September 2018 (Sunday)
Time :   9:00am – 12:30pm
Venue : Wang Gungwu Lecture Hall, Graduate House,
The University of Hong Kong, 3 University Drive, Hong Kong
Language: English & Mandarin Simultaneous Translation

 

 

Speaker Evan Caplan
Title of Presentation The Magic of Alexandrite

 

Biography
Evan Caplan is widely considered to be one of the finest and knowledgeable colored stone professionals of our time. It all began back in the 1980’s when a friend, who was in the business of colored stones, needed some help for a few days. This was Mr. Caplan’s introduction to the unique and beautiful world of rare stones and he developed a serious interest in them. Interest, however, was not enough. Knowledge was needed so he began his studies at the Gemological Institute of America, the worlds leading school of Gemology and quickly achieved its highest degree of Graduate Gemologist. 


Originally trained as a jazz musician, he studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston and later found that the great sensitivity and artistry needed for contemporary jazz seemed to allow him to move quickly and easily into his new world of rare and exotic stones. His desire for greater knowledge and direct access to stones led him to travel and grow business relationships in Burma, Thailand, Brazil, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, India and many other sources of stones. Mr. Caplan was one of the first people to bring the unique Paraiba tourmaline to America.  He, along with several others, was responsible for the cutting and eventual sale of the world’s largest Padparadscha sapphire. 
 

As his reputation grew, collectors, followed by curators from major museums, began to visit his small office located in Los Angeles. With the passage of time he found himself attracted, again and again, to a unique, beautiful and extremely rare stone called Alexandrite. Alexandrite often exhibits a color change from red to green but can also show a cat’s eye effect. On very rare occasions, both phenomena can occur in the same stone. It is one of the world’s most interesting stones. Now ,at the pinnacle of his long career, Mr. Caplan has become a leading authority on Alexandrite and often lectures on this truly remarkable gem.
 

 The abstract of the talks
The Magic of Alexandrite, I will discuss several aspects of Alexandrite. We’ll talk about the history, color change, origin and one or two brief stories about some of my most memorable experiences in working with Alexandrite.