The Manhattan Chapter GIA Alumni Collective
The Manhattan Chapter GIA Alumni Collective
is Proud to Present:
Surprising Facts about Pearls You May Not Know!
with
Renee Newman, Gemologist, Author
In 1857, an American pearl rush started about 20 miles from Manhattan when Jacob Quackenbush found a 15 mm pink pearl in a Notch Brook, New Jersey mussel. He sold it to Tiffany’s for $1500, Then a French dealer bought it for 12,500 francs and sold it to Empress Eugenie in France, wife of Napoleon III. After people heard about the pink pearl, some quit their jobs to look for pearls. Later the pearl fever spread to many other states and natural pearls became the main source of income for many jewelers in the late 1800s,
Besides discussing American pearls, Renee’s PowerPoint will include information on:
* The importance of pearls in Mexico
* Unusual natural pearls available today
* The highest priced pearls
* South Sea cultured pearls that resemble Chinese freshwater baroque cultured pearls
* How Australia became the first country to produce cultured saltwater round pearls
* How pearl oysters improve our atmosphere and the oceans.
All of Renee's books will be available for sale at a discount and will be autographing them!
DATE: Thursday, April 23, 2026
TIME: 5-6 PM Pizza & Sodas 6-7:30 PM Lecture
PLACE: GIA New York Education, 50 West 47th St. (bet. 5th and 6th Aves.), 8th Floor
COST: $30 Admission Limited to 50. Prepaid Only! No walk-ins! As a courtesy to our alumni and the speakers there will be no admittance after 6 PM. If you are not on the security list by the RSVP date of Thursday, April 16th, you cannot attend. This is 7 days before the event!! All attendees must bring their government issued identification (driver’s license or passport) to pick up their access card at the building lobby security post area with no exception. Please come half hour early due to security protocols.
RSVP: Reservations must be in by Thursday, April 16th!
PAYMENT: Click here to register via TBA!
QUESTIONS: Gail B. Levine 718.897.7305 or Merle S. Koblenz 860.927.0179
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The chapter thanks Michael Coan and A and C Gem Trading Co. and for their generous raffle donations. It contributed toward the 2025 effort for the Eunice Miles Scholarship Fund.
Keep your profile current in the Alumni Directory. Click here to update.