About the Director

After extensive study and travel, in 2011 I opened my Lawson Gems International Website and subsequently the Lawson Gems physical store in Brisbane, Australia. Ever since I was a small child returning home from school with pockets full of interesting stones found throughout 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 and old boxes 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 continue to follow my passion for gems and study gemmology, completing 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 a few 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 such topics as 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 all manner of gemstones and minerals, but especially those with a story to tell, whether it be in relation to their geological formation or their story passing from one hand to another.

             Charles Lawson with the Teacup Collection

I have traveled to exotic and out of the way destinations looking for stones, meeting so many interesting characters and finding beautiful and unusual gems. On my travels I have explored mines and markets in places like Mozambique, Myanmar, Madagascar, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Outback Australia and many more exciting and interesting locations.

My website store will bring you the results of my travels, with a great range of both rough and polished gemstones. You can also explore the Lawson Gems story through our Instagram feed, Movies page, blogs and additional About pages. If you are searching for a particular and unable to find just what you are looking for on the website please feel free to reach out to support@lawsongems.com as we have a huge range of stock in store that may not be shown online.

             Charles Lawson and his team with the women of the ROAM Lapidary Collective in Sakaraha, Madagascar.

Lawson Gems is committed to bringing forward and championing the ideals of responsible sourcing through active participation within many aspects of the gem and jewellery trade. Be it through activities like traveling to third world mining areas to provided free gemmological, geological and mining training and equipment to locals or providing seminars on topics like gender equality and knowledge transfer to trade events and universities. Lawson Gems is committed to a more responsible industry that can benefit people at all levels of the trade. In the last 8 years Lawson Gems has taken this role to even greater levels, working with such bodies as Tiffany & Co., the University of Queensland, the University of Deleware and GIZ, just to mention a few. I have become a regular speaker at industry events with a focus on bringing my knowledge and experience in the fields of capacity building, responsible sourcing, artisanal mining to help the industry better understand where so many of its coloured gemstones come from and how they can better support the often impoverished communities that produce these fantastic gems.

 

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 Institute of America

Accredited Jewelry Professional- Gemological Institute of America  

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

Coloured Gem Grading and Pricing (AIGS)                      

Jewellery Design (AIGS)                      

Diamond Grading (The Gemmological Association of Australia)