Announcement The next PriceScope GTG

[Ilovecarbon]

PSA: Southwest into Hobby is almost always easier/ cheaper, especially to get to Sugarland.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Details would be great so I know what time I should aim to fly in Friday and if there’s anything on Sunday I want to stay for!

Also if there’s any info that would be relevant for hotel booking, like where events will be, that’d be appreciated too so I can start the planning and booking. Bwajahah

I'll be posting some info later today. As Luekolenos mentioned there is a wonderful Marriott in Town Square right across the street from us. And that is where the Saturday dinner will be held. There are plenty of shops, restaurants and bars in the square too, so it is very pedestrian friendly. As far as Friday events, they will probably kick off about 10am. Depending on how many folks we have, they will be on campus at Whiteflash or in a meeting room at Marriott. There may be a special breakfast that would precede the Friday events.
Stay tuned for more info!

 

[Austina]

If you ever host an event again, can you please give lots of notice as I’m in the UK but have a son in Austin who we visit often? It’d be great to come along. Either way, I’ll be visiting WF in September to pick up a little something

 

[Texas Leaguer]

If you ever host an event again, can you please give lots of notice as I’m in the UK but have a son in Austin who we visit often? It’d be great to come along. Either way, I’ll be visiting WF in September to pick up a little something

I do apologize for the short notice. But we will keep any party favors that might be dispensed at the event for you in September.

 

[Austina]

Thank you so much, that’s very kind of you @Texas Leaguer

 

[Texas Leaguer]

OK Y’all. I promise you are going to want to be here Friday May 11.

I am delighted to announce that AGSL will be in da house!

Jason Quick, Director of American Gem Society Laboratories, will be in attendance along with Lab Research Analyst Brock Wilke.

It will be a great opportunity for pricescopers to get to know these gentlemen on a personal basis and to pick their brains.

Jason and Brock will be making some presentations on Friday and will be Pricescope’s special guests at the dinner on Saturday.

More details later on the nature of their presentations. Suffice it to say it will be a rare opportunity to ‘look beneath the hood’ of one of the world’s most important gemological laboratories.

 

[Gussie]

@Texas Leaguer this is exciting! Thank you!

 

[bludiva]

Is this a newbie-friendly event? I'm not too far from Houston & tempted to come out just to ogle.

 

[PintoBean]

Is this a newbie-friendly event? I'm not too far from Houston & tempted to come out just to ogle.

Of course it will be. You can do what I did in Chicago. I said I was dancing Fire and that tacori e-ring is Kenny.

 

[bludiva]

Of course it will be. You can do what I did in Chicago. I said I was dancing Fire and that tacori e-ring is Kenny.

good strategy!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

If events start at 10 am I guess I should look into booking a Thursday flight! Exciting! Hopefully I can get the days off.

 

[marymm]

I totally want to come! I'm going to try to get my ducks in a row ... thanks PS Admin and WF!

 

[leukolenos]

Thank you Texas Leaguer and Whiteflash! This is going to be amazing!

 

[whitewave]

Maybe. Will have to check graduation schedule...

 

[Starfacet]

So I might have missed something, but are there events Friday starting at 10 and going all day Saturday into evening?

 

[Texas Leaguer]

So I might have missed something, but are there events Friday starting at 10 and going all day Saturday into evening?

Traditionally Pricescope GTG's have been social events put on for the benefit of forum members, and that is still the point. Community members getting to meet in a fun and casual atmosphere, and sharing their common interests. GTG's have also been open to vendors that support the forum and various industry experts.

The industry experts in this case will be the folks from AGSL. And they will not only be attending the social event, but are coming a day early to present some educational sessions for whoever may want to attend. The exact topics for discussion have not been finalized, but I do know that part of their presentation will be a forward looking view of where the industry is headed and AGSL's vision of their role in that evolution.

I have also been given a hint about a new area of light performance research that AGSL has been pursuing that will become a part of their grading services in the near future. It is an exciting extension of their core expertise in light behavior applied to an area of diamond grading that they have not before offered to the public. The presentations will be an opportunity for members to learn and to be in the know about breaking industry news.

I can't give any details about that particular subject, but if there are topics of interest that attendees want to hear about, you could post them here and I will make sure they get conveyed.
I think we will have two or more presentations with Q&A during the day on Friday.

More details as they become available.

 

[Starfacet]

Just need to book hotel so I need to figure out how many days I'll be there! I wasn't sure if any of the events are off limits to non-pros!

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Just need to book hotel so I need to figure out how many days I'll be there! I wasn't sure if any of the events are off limits to non-pros!

The events are open to all forum members. Normally Andrey requests that attendees RSVP as the Saturday night dinner will have limited space. I believe you can expect an announcement from pricescope on that soon. We would similarly ask that attendees give us an idea of which presentations they are interested in (as those details are posted) so that we can plan accordingly.

 

[OoohShiny]

Unnnngh, those AGSL talks sound awesome but it's not a possibility to get there from over the other side of a large pond!!

Personally speaking, though, I'd be interested to hear if they had any thoughts on stereoscopic grading techniques, and related to that, whether it would/could ever be possible to grade things like scintillation or fire or off-angle light performance (rather than just face-on ASET images) - I know @Serg has posted previously on such things but it would be good to get AGSL's view on it, seeing as they are large in the market!

I guess another question might be about the future grading of MMDs - is there pressure from the mining industry to not grade them as thoroughly as mined stones? Do they envisage a time when they will be graded on an equal basis, given that, surely, the grade is the grade and the markets will subsequently decide the value of any given graded stone, whether MMD or mined, so a grading company's role should just be to ensure as much accurate information is available as possible, to allow informed decisions to be made by consumers?

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Unnnngh, those AGSL talks sound awesome but it's not a possibility to get there from over the other side of a large pond!!

Personally speaking, though, I'd be interested to hear if they had any thoughts on stereoscopic grading techniques, and related to that, whether it would/could ever be possible to grade things like scintillation or fire or off-angle light performance (rather than just face-on ASET images) - I know @Serg has posted previously on such things but it would be good to get AGSL's view on it, seeing as they are large in the market!

I guess another question might be about the future grading of MMDs - is there pressure from the mining industry to not grade them as thoroughly as mined stones? Do they envisage a time when they will be graded on an equal basis, given that, surely, the grade is the grade and the markets will subsequently decide the value of any given graded stone, whether MMD or mined, so a grading company's role should just be to ensure as much accurate information is available as possible, to allow informed decisions to be made by consumers?

Good questions - I will pass them on. Regarding off angle light performance, that is already accounted for in the AGSL system as the LP factors are evaluated thru a range of tilt angles. With regard to scintillation studies, I know that is something that they have been involved with for some time. We should be able to get updates on those efforts.

Thanks for those suggestions!

 

[yssie]

These events sound fabulous @Texas Leaguer!

I've wanted to visit WF since I started working with Sheerah... eight years ago, oh my goodness!! I've had the privilege of meeting some of the wonderful WF crew in Vegas over the years and I sure hope there's space for me at this shindig 'cause I can't wait to see the headquarters of All Things Sparkly

 

[Texas Leaguer]

These events sound fabulous @Texas Leaguer!

I've wanted to visit WF since I started working with Sheerah... eight years ago, oh my goodness!! I've had the privilege of meeting some of the wonderful WF crew in Vegas over the years and I sure hope there's space for me at this shindig 'cause I can't wait to see the headquarters of All Things Sparkly

Outstanding! BTW I hear there might be a prize for the attendee with the highest number of posts. If you make a few more posts you might be in the running

 

[yssie]

Outstanding! BTW I hear there might be a prize for the attendee with the highest number of posts. If you make a few more posts you might be in the running

Post a

 

[yssie]

Outstanding! BTW I hear there might be a prize for the attendee with the highest number of posts. If you make a few more posts you might be in the running

Few more times

 

[yssie]

Outstanding! BTW I hear there might be a prize for the attendee with the highest number of posts. If you make a few more posts you might be in the running

you say?

 

[alpha238]

I would love to attend the GTG. Can't wait to get more details.

 

[PintoBean]

I would love to attend the GTG. Can't wait to get more details.

Oooo we can meet in person, sweet lady!!!!

 

[alpha238]

Oooo we can meet in person, sweet lady!!!!

I would love that!

 

[psadmin]

Now that we got you all excited, we need a little help with the head count.

Please click here to RSVP via the contact form and write “ PS and WF GTG 2018” in the subject line.

For security please give us your full name as on your ID and let us know you wish to attend the AGS presentations on Friday, May 11.

Eligibility as of 03-15-18: For security purposes, consumers with at least 100 posts or 6 months of membership with 50 posts as of 03-15-18, will be eligible to attend the Whiteflash and Pricescope Get Together. Please note that space is limited and guests will only be considered after March 31st if we have additional space. Only members who are active and in good standing in the last 6 months will be eligible to attend. You are welcome to request a guest when you RSVP and we will notify you at the beginning of April if we have space for the guest.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Eek. I need to get my vacation form in!