Alan Hodgkinson, a respected author, educator, and lecturer on gemology and gem identification, died on Oct. 7, according to a notice from his family. He was 87.

Hodgkinson joined the industry when he was 18 years old and serving in the Royal Air Force in Aberdeen, Scotland.

“[I] met the Hendersons, a family of jewelers who offered me a career opportunity in their shop,” he recalled in a 2022 interview. “There was, however, a stipulation: I must become a gemologist.”

After getting his gemology degree, Hodgkinson became an instructor at Jewellery Training Scotland. He later developed a two-day hands-on gemology course that not only hugely became popular in Britain but garnered him speaking engagements throughout the world.

“I realized pretty soon that the public was curious about gemology,” he told the Accredited Gemologists Association’s (AGA) 2023 Tucson conference. “Talking about it is one thing. But the real key to arousing that interest, and developing it, is to demonstrate [it].”

He is credited with championing “visual optics,” the technique of examining gems with just your eyes and a light. In 1996, Scottish newspaper The Herald called Hodgkinson “the man with the golden eyeball,” noting his “CV is as glittering as the gems he has been identifying for the past 40 years.”

Hodgkinson was active in industry groups, serving as president of the Scottish Gemmological Association (SGA) and director of the Scottish branch of Gem-A, the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. He later racked up an impressive list of honorary life memberships, from the AGA, SGA, Gem-A, and the American Gem Trade Association. In 2000, he won the AGA’s first-ever Antonio C. Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology.

He was also the author of two books on visual optics, and in 2015 he published Gem Testing Techniques, a 552-page reference guide that a GIA reviewer called “particularly comprehensive,” adding “the decades of experience by the author are apparent.”

So was Hodgkinson’s enthusiasm for the subject. When asked at the AGA conference to name his favorite gem, he replied that he didn’t have one.

“They’re all fascinating,” he said. “My advice is, just don’t pass a gemstone from one hand to another and put it on the shelf.… Have a look at it more closely with your gem testing equipment.”

He exhorted the assembled gemologists to share their passion with the general public.

“People are just so spellbound when you tell them about gemstones,” Hodgkinson said. “We’re so lucky, so privileged to work with gemstones and diamonds as our career. Go to it, all of you.”

Gem-A wrote in a LinkedIn post: “His contribution to gemology and his absolute commitment, friendship, fellowship, and passion were unwavering and inspiring. Alan was an important member of the world’s gemological community and immensely respected by all.”

At press time, there was no information on survivors.

(Photo courtesy of the AGA)

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