About Us - Lawson Gems

After extensive study and travel I opened my Lawson Gems International Website. Since I was a small child returning home from school with pockets full of interesting stones found through the day, I have been fascinated by rocks minerals and especially coloured gemstones. My grandfather Grahame Lawson was an amateur collector always returning from his travels with little parcels of stones which he would have made up into jewellery for my grandmother. I never met him but I do still have small paper parcels of stones that he collected from his adventures and I hope to continue on in his spirit.

Initially I studied Geology at Queensland University, after graduating and working as an exploration geologist on sites in the Australian outback I decided to study gemmology, completeing multiple Diplomas and becoming a Fellow of the Gemmological Society of Great Britain and a Fellow of the Gemmological Society of Australia. I then spent some years working with an Australian gemstone wholesaler and then in the diamond buying area of national jewellery retail chain. My studies then took me to Bangkok where I completed courses in synthetics and treatments and coloured stone grading at the Asian Institute of Gemmological Science. I then moved to London where I studied with the GIA completing their Graduate Diamond Grading course.

My interest lies in the beauty and mystery of coloured gemstones, I have always loved emeralds, sapphires, aquamarine, tourmaline, spinel, the list goes on! I have travelled to exotic and out of the way destinations looking for stones, meeting so many interesting characters and finding beautiful and unusual stones. On my most recent trip to Mozambique on the East Coast of Africa I travelled with local men to see where the mines are and speak with the villagers, it was here that I sourced some stunning Aquamarine and Tourmaline that I have had cut by a master cutter in Bangkok. My website store will bring you the results of travels through Asia and Africa and I have designed ranges of jewellery using stones from Africa and around the world. You will also be able to purchase cut stones, rough stone and comming soon I will have a range of gemmological and jeweller's supplies.

 Qualifications:

Bachelor of Science (in the Field of Geology)- University of Queensland

Diploma (Level 5) in Gemmology- The Gemmological Association of Great Britain

Certificate IV in Gemmology- The Gemmological Association of Australia

Graduate Diamonds- Gemological Institue of America

Certified in: Sythetic and Treated Gem Identification (Asian Institue of Gemmological Sciences)

                     Coloured Gem Grading and Priceing (AIGS)

                     Jewellery Design (AIGS)

                     Diamond Grading (The Gemmological Association of Australia)