GILC and LMHC decisions for Hydrophane opal nomenclature
The GILC or the Gemstone Industry and Laboratory Conference is a committee formed under the auspices of the International Coloured Stone Association (ICA) to discuss and offer information on terminology used in the gemstone and Jewellery Industry.
In 2013 after much discussion regarding new opal discoveries of precious opal in Ethiopia, the GILC has issued the following information detailed below.
It should be noted that these details apply to all Hydrophane opal types, both precious Hydrophane opal and non-precious or Common Hydrophane opal that may be used in Jewellery.
It should also be noted that Ethiopia is not the only source of Precious Hydrophane opal. Precious Hydrophane opal is also produced in the Virgin Valley opal field in the USA, and is also present in the opal mining areas of Indonesia.
The LMHC or the Laboratory Manual Harmonization Committee is a committee that meets under the auspices of the ICA (International Coloured Stone Association with the premise of standardising terms used and descriptions recommended for gemstone reports. The idea of the LMHC is to consider definitions and descriptions that might become a standard for use when writing gemstone reports or certificates.
The desire is to standardise terminology within the reporting procedures.
