About the author: Baojun Li, the third member of China Baoxie Artifact Professional Committee, and the deputy director of National Gem Monitoring and Training Center.
The appearance and development of gems are almost accompanied by various historical periods of mankind. As early as10.8 million years ago, a perforated bone necklace was found in the Neanderthal site in Zhoukoudian, Beijing, which should be the earliest ornament of human beings. Bright gems have been the object of people's crazy pursuit since ancient times, symbolizing power and wealth. So what exactly is a gem? Investigating its connotation, the concept of gem can be divided into broad and narrow sense.
I. Gemstones and man-made products
At first, all the gem materials used by people came from nature, which gave the gem natural attributes. People call the substances produced in nature, which are beautiful, durable, rare, have scientific and technological value and can be processed into decorations, natural gems. Including natural gemstones (such as diamonds), natural jade (such as jadeite) and natural organic gemstones (such as pearls), this is a narrow concept of gemstones.
Due to the limited natural resources, there are fewer and fewer natural gems, which are expensive and can't meet people's demand for jewelry. In addition, there is an increasing demand for precious stones in modern industry, such as crystals with piezoelectric effect and diamonds as cutting tools and abrasives. Therefore, people constantly explore artificial methods to make up for the shortage of natural resources, and artificial products emerge as the times require. People refer to all or part of the materials used for jewelry and decorations produced or manufactured by people as artificial products. Include synthetic gems (such as synthetic rubies), artificial gem (such as synthetic strontium carbonate), split gems (such as split opals) and recycled gems (such as recycled amber).
With the continuous improvement of human science and technology, a large number of artificial products have entered the jewelry market and become an inseparable part of the gem field. Therefore, the national standard issued by 1997 defines gems as natural gems and artificial products. Thereby expanding the connotation of the growth enterprise market, that is, the broad concept of growth enterprise market. Gems are divided into the following categories:
Man-made products, China
According to research, the ancient Egyptians began to imitate turquoise with ceramics as early as 5,000 years ago, which should be the beginning of artificial gem. Artificial gem's current definition is "artificially made crystal or amorphous body with no known counterpart in nature", such as artificial gadolinium gallium garnet. The correct naming of artificial gem must begin with the word "artificial", such as "artificial yttrium aluminum garnet" and "artificial strontium titanate", except "glass" and "plastic". In addition, it is forbidden to use the names of manufacturers and manufacturers for direct naming, to use confusing or ambiguous terms, such as "Austrian diamond", and to use production methods to participate in naming, such as "flame-fused ruby".
If an artificial product is "completely or partially artificially made, there is a known counterpart in nature, and its physical properties, chemical composition and crystal structure are basically the same as the corresponding natural jewelry and jade", it is called a synthetic gem. The earliest man-made product developed and sold in the market in the world is artificial ruby. From 65438 to 0837, French chemist Mark Gooding began to try to synthesize gems by chemical methods, but the crystal particles were too small to be practical. Until 1902, French scientist Verneuil successfully synthesized ruby by flame melting and began commercial production. From the end of 19 to the present 100 years, almost all gems have synthetic products. The naming rule of synthetic gemstones is that the word "synthetic" must be added before the name of the corresponding natural gemstone, such as "synthetic ruby" and "synthetic emerald". When naming, it is forbidden to use the names of manufacturers and manufacturers for direct naming, such as "Chatham Emerald" and "Linde Emerald"; It is also forbidden to use confusing or ambiguous nouns for naming, such as "Rubin stone", "red corundum" and "synthetic products".
Stone splitting refers to "stones and jade that are composed of two or more materials and give people an overall impression are called stone splitting". The naming rule of inlaid gems is to write the names of constituent materials layer by layer, and add the word "inlaid stone" after the names of constituent materials, such as "sapphire and synthetic sapphire inlaid stone"; Or add the word "mosaic stone" to the name of the top material, such as "sapphire mosaic stone". If the mosaic is made of the same material, add the word "mosaic" after the name of the composition material, such as "zircon mosaic". With natural pearls, pearls, opals or synthetic opals as the main materials, the names of natural pearls, pearls, opals or synthetic opals can be used respectively, and it is not necessary to write the material names layer by layer.
Recycled gemstone refers to "fusing or pressing the fragments or chips of natural jewelry and jade into jewelry and jade with overall appearance by artificial means". The naming rule of regenerated gems is to add the word "regeneration" before the name of natural gems, such as "regenerated amber".
With the sustained and high-speed development of China's economy and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, people's consumption concept is becoming more and more mature, and the original decorative and beautifying function of gems is gradually returning. Because of its own characteristics, artificial products are often more beautiful than natural gemstones, so it can be predicted that the prospects of artificial products industry will be infinitely optimistic.
Second, China's jewelry vocational education
Jewelry education in China is divided into two parts: jewelry education and jewelry vocational education.
Jewelry Education was established in 1992, represented by the Jewelry College of China Geo University. Others such as Guilin Institute of Technology, Guangzhou Sun Yat-sen University, Shanghai Tongji University, Wuzhou Gem Technical Training School, etc. After more than ten years' development, it has gradually established a complete training system for vocational high schools, technical secondary schools, junior colleges, undergraduate, master and doctoral students.
Jewelry vocational education is mainly to offer short-term training courses, which involve gem identification, diamond classification, jade identification and trade, jewelry design, jewelry processing, jewelry evaluation and so on. The certificate issued is represented by NGTC (National Jewelry Training Center, formerly National Gem Monitoring Training Center). By the end of 2006, more than 7,400 people had been trained for the society. Other well-known training institutions include GAC (China Jewelry and Jade Jewelry Industry Association, formerly China Gemstone Association) and GIC (Jewelry College of China Geo University).
Jewelry education abroad also focuses on vocational education. The British Gemstone Association has a history of nearly a hundred years, and it is also the first foreign educational institution introduced to China. Since 1990, more than 800 students have obtained FGA (Gem Course) or DGA (Diamond Course) certificates. Others such as GIA (American Gemological Institute), HRD (Belgian Diamond High Council), GII (American International Gemological Institute), IGI (International Gemological Institute), ASA (American Appraisers Association) and so on. Taking GIA as an example, the courses currently offered include gem identification, diamond grading, pearl grading and jewelry marketing. The introduction of international advanced education system is a useful supplement and reference for Chinese jewelry education.
At present, among all kinds of vocational qualification certificates in China, the most influential one is the five-level vocational qualification certificate issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, that is, primary skills (vocational qualification level 5), intermediate skills (vocational qualification level 4), advanced skills (vocational qualification level 3), technicians (vocational qualification level 2) and senior technicians (vocational qualification level 1).
In 2002, the Ministry of Labor established the "Jewelry Vocational Skills Appraisal Guidance Center", which belongs to the "Jewelry and Jade Jewelry Management Center of the Ministry of Land and Resources". After that, the "Jewelry Vocational Skills Appraisal Guidance Center" set up 20 jewelry vocational skills appraisal stations throughout the country. At present, the jewelry industry has begun to determine the following jobs: precious metals, diamonds, gem inspectors, jewelry salesmen, precious metal jewelry craftsmen, precious metal jewelry mechanics, gem grinders and so on. Up to now, more than 7,000 people have obtained vocational skills certificates after appraisal by the Jewelry Vocational Skills Appraisal and Guidance Center. It has played a positive role in promoting the healthy development of the jewelry industry.
The highest gold content in jewelry industry is the "CGC" qualification certificate jointly issued by the Ministry of Personnel and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and the "CPVG" qualification certificate jointly issued by the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Finance.
The CGC exam is held every two years. The examination subjects are divided into four subjects: theoretical examination and practical examination. The theoretical examination consists of two subjects: "Basic Gemmology Theory and Related Laws and Regulations" and "Gemmology Professional Knowledge". There are two kinds of practical tests: "Gem Identification" and "Diamond Classification". The pre-test training institutions are mainly undertaken by the National Jewelry Training Center and the Jewelry College of China Geo University. At present, it has been held for six times, and the examination place is located in Beijing. Starting from 1997, the number of people who passed the exam in each year is as follows:
1997, 2 13 people took the exam, 158 people passed, and the passing rate was about 74%;
1998, 197 people took the exam, 148 people passed, and the passing rate was about 75%;
In 2000, 20 1 person took the exam, and 146 people passed, with a passing rate of about 73%.
In 2002, 229 people passed the exam, and 170 people passed, with a passing rate of about 74%.
In 2004, 263 people passed the exam, and 129 people passed, with a passing rate of about 49%.
In 2006, 4 13 people took the exam, and 145 people passed, with a passing rate of about 35%.
So far, together with the 49 people identified by 1997, there are 945 registered quality inspectors in China, mainly distributed in the inspection posts of nearly 140 quality inspection stations in China.
The national certified asset appraiser (jewelry) qualification examination consists of five examination subjects: jewelry appraisal theory and method, jewelry appraisal case analysis, asset appraisal, economic law and jewelry and jade quality inspector qualification examination. Among them, "asset appraisal" and "economic law" take the unified examination in September each year; Theory and Method of Jewelry Appraisal and Case Analysis of Jewelry Appraisal are tested every two years. The pre-test training institution is undertaken by the National Jewelry Training Center, which has been held for two times. The examination place is located in Beijing. The number of people who pass these two subjects each year is as follows:
In 2004, 95 people took the exam and 55 people passed, with a passing rate of about 58%.
In 2006, 63 people took the exam and 29 people passed, with a passing rate of about 46%.
Candidates can obtain the qualification of national registered asset appraiser (jewelry) by passing the above five examinations within three years. Up to now, 38 people have obtained CPVG qualification 1 person in 2004, 3 people in 2005 and 19 people in 2006. Together with 15 people recognized in 2004, a total of 38 people have obtained national registered asset appraisers (jewelry). At present, the only formal jewelry appraisal institution in China is Zhonghengyu Assets Appraisal Co., Ltd.. Jewelry appraisal has just started in China, and the market is very broad.
Third, artificial products and jewelry vocational education
Artificial products have always been very important in jewelry vocational education. The synthetic principle, method and identification characteristics of gems are the key and difficult points in the process of gem identification, which involves almost every important gem variety. Artificial gem often appears in the name of imitation gems, such as artificial yttrium aluminum garnet imitation emerald, glass and plastic are important materials for imitation gems; Recycling amber is one of the most difficult problems in jewelry identification in recent years. Split gems have gradually decreased in the market in recent years, and only split opals can be seen, which is relatively easy to identify. This can be seen from the quality inspector exams over the years.
With the continuous progress of science and technology, the means and methods of synthesizing gems are also constantly breaking through. For example, in synthetic diamonds, synthetic diamonds exceeding 1 carat are no longer news. It is said that some foreign companies have started commercial production. This also puts forward higher requirements for jewelry education.
At present, China is implementing the strategy of high-skilled talents. It is planned that by the end of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, the proportion of high-skilled talents with vocational qualifications above grade three will reach more than 25%, among which technicians (secondary vocational qualifications) and senior technicians (primary vocational qualifications) will account for more than 5% of skilled workers, so as to promote the development of the echelon of middle and primary skilled workers. Strive to reach the level of moderately developed countries by 2020. Highly skilled talents are an important part of China's talent team. As the outstanding representatives of China's industrial army and the core backbone of skilled workers, they play an irreplaceable role in accelerating industrial optimization and upgrading, improving the competitiveness of enterprises, promoting technological innovation and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. Only by accelerating the training of a group of highly skilled talents and high-quality employees can we have a stronger competitive advantage in the fierce international competition, enhance China's core competitiveness and independent innovation ability, build an innovative country, and realize the transformation from "Made in China" to "Created in China".
In 2007, the global output value of artificial products is expected to reach11300 million USD. Man-made products, the cutting and grinding center of man-made products, China, represented by Wuzhou, Guangxi, accounts for 40% of the world's output, and is the world's largest man-made products processing base and trading distribution center market. With the continuous expansion of the market, the demand for corresponding talents is more and more urgent, especially high-quality professional and technical talents, which is an important factor restricting the economic development of various regions and industries in China. Jewelry vocational education has a long way to go.