On 1st May 2024 we will have our last meeting of the 2023/24 programme. On the day, we will start with the 63rd Annual General Meeting:
· to review our activities and performance in the calendar year of 2023 via the presentation of the Trustees’ Report; and
· to vote for the election of new members of the 2024/25 committee
The AGM is for members of The Colour Group (GB), an interdisciplinary society founded in 1940, that draws together people interested in all aspects of colour – its perception, measurement, reproduction, and artistic expression.
After the AGM, our guest speaker Sofie Boons from University of the West of England will introduce her research on lab-grown gems.
The meeting will be ended with a preview of our draft programme for 2024/25 and Halstead-Granville Tea.
Programme
14:00 AGM
14:40 Neo-Gemstones: the illuminating future of coloured crystals
15:10 Draft programme 2024/25 preview
15:15 Halstead-Granville Tea
The meeting will be held in Room C309 at City University, London (Tait Building, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB Map) and remotely on Zoom. Please register via Eventbrite to indicate your attendance format (this will help us to organise the Halstead-Granville Tea efficiently, thanks!).
Neo-Gemstones: the illuminating future of coloured crystals
Abstract
The search for, wearing and collecting of gemstones has been a popular endeavour for many decades. For most gemmologists, jewellers and gemstone collectors, the crushing of a stone would be the greatest sin. For painters, or those who create pigments, past and present, gem materials are regularly used for their colouring potential. With crystal growing techniques having been around for many years, bespoke man-made crystals now drive innovations in a range of industries. Yet, in the industry for which they were originally produced, their position is tenuous and little innovation in their development beyond imitating or simulating natural stones has taken place. In this presentation Sofie Boons shares insights into her PhD study investigating the design implications, possibilities, and limits of utilising man-made crystals in an artistic context. A brief contextual review traces our human fascination with gemstones back centuries and covers the key developments in their "imitation”. Furthermore, the terminology used to label man-made and mined crystals is interrogated and a need for the identification of alternative terminology considered. Finally, through the review of her research and artistic work, the ability of man-made crystals to enable innovations and creativity both as gemstones and pigments is highlighted.
