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History
Robert M. Shipley, GIA's Founder. Few experiences would have greater impact on Wichita
jeweler Robert M. Shipley, GIA's eventual founder,
than the period he devoted in 1928 to studying
gemology in Great Britain.Learning from the world's leading experts of the day, Shipley would return to the United States profoundly influenced by the noble traditions of Europe's venerated guilds and institutes.
Establishing the Institute – Setting Professional Standards. Recognizing the need for America's nascent jewelry industry to adopt professional standards of training and business practice, Shipley dedicated himself to establishing an institute, and later, a guild, modeled after those he had so grown to admire overseas.
In 1931, at age 44, Mr. Shipley founded the Gemological Institute of America in
Los Angeles. In the same year, he published his groundbreaking book, Gemology,
and by that summer, 250 jewelers had enrolled in his courses. Some would later
become instructors and researchers at the Institute.