History
Towards the beginning of the 20th century, Eduard Gubelin Sr. became convinced of his company's need to be knowledgeable, equipped and ready to cope with the challenges which were facing the gemstone and jewellery industry at that time. The first part of the last century had witnessed dramatic changes. Gemstone wholesalers, jewellers and consumer alike no longer had to only contend with readily recognisable gemstone imitations, such as glass. The industry at that time was faced with challenges, which are common today, with the advent of the first true synthetic gemstones (i.e.synthetic rubies and spinels) and cultured pearls, that threatened the stability and the future of the jewellery industry. Eduard Gubelin Sr. during this time attended a gemmology course provided by Professor H. Michel of Vienna, Austria and with great vision sent an employee of the Gubelin firm, Mr. Charles Salquin, to study gemmology in Vienna, under Prof. Michel.
Upon the return of Mr. Salquin, the firm acquired all of the latest equipment necessary to establish a fully operational gemmological station. With these purchases, the Gubelin firm became equipped to the same standards as the laboratory facility of Prof. Michel, which was at that time, the most advanced gemstone testing facility in the world. In 1932 Eduard J. Gubelin, the eldest son of Eduard Gubelin Sr., entered the family business. In the years to come, together with his brother Walter, they led the Gubelin firm with outstanding distinction, continuing the standards of excellence which had been set by their father: Dr. Eduard Gubelin as one of the pioneers of modern gemmology and Walter Gubelin as a pre-eminent expert watchmaker.
Dr. Eduard J. Gubelin, combined his knowledge of mineralogy and the jewellery business, with his love and admiration for gemstones, to establish the importance of gemmology in the gemstone and jewellery industry. Right up to his death in March 2005, Dr. Gubelin continued to be one of the most highly recognised and influential gemmological personalities in the world, devoting his life and career to unveiling the mystique of gemstones. He had helped advance the science of gemmology countless times with his investigations and classification of a wide spectrum of gem materials, excursions to mining localities, development of gemmological instruments, and his world-renown, innovative work on the fascinating realm of gemstone inclusions. Dr. Gubelin's charm, elegance and intellect combined with an artist's eye, a poet's heart and a philosopher's approach to life had instilled in him a unique talent to convey complex topics in a manner which is readily understood and the ability to inject others with his infectious adoration of gemstones. His continued prolific publications of a lifelong vocation resulted in a vast volume of gemmological and scientific journals, trade publications, newspaper articles, as well as a number of books devoted to all the various aspects of gemmology. Over the decades, as a result of Dr. Gubelin's work, the Gubelin Laboratory gained in recognition and stature, and has become one of the world's most renowned and highly recognised gemmological laboratories.
The original intention of the Laboratory was for the inspection and subsequent guarantee of the gemstones sold in jewellery items by the Gubelin firm. However, the notoriety of the Gubelin Laboratory became such that during the 1960's, the auction houses of Christie's and Sotheby's began requesting Reports from the Gubelin Laboratory for important gemstones that were coming up for sale. From these beginnings, the Laboratory began servicing the entire gemstone and jewellery industry. Today, the Laboratory's clients include gemstone dealers, jewellery retailers, auction houses, private collectors and royalty. The Laboratory's services include gem identification and enhancement detection, diamond grading, pearl analysis and the analysis for which we are most renown, the determination of a gemstone's provenance or origin.
