Tom Moses to Leave GIA in May 2026, Will Receive Emeritus Title

Tom Moses, who joined the Gemological Institute of America in 1976 at its Santa Monica laboratory and rose to become executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer, will depart GIA in May 2026 after almost 50 years with the institute. GIA said there are "no plans" to replace Moses, and the institute will confer an emeritus designation in recognition of his service; Moses will remain in his role through May to assist with the transition.

Moses’s career began after he earned his Graduate Gemologist diploma and moved from California to New York to work under Robert Crowningshield, with whom he worked closely for 20 years. He was elected to GIA’s board of governors in 2013 and will leave that post when he departs the institute. Over his tenure, Moses has co‑authored more than 100 technical articles for Gems & Gemology and other peer‑reviewed journals, and in 2002 he received GIA’s Richard T. Liddicoat Award for Distinguished Achievement.

Institutional leaders point to Moses’s stewardship of GIA’s grading laboratories and research programs. He is credited with helping to transform GIA into a global leader in gemology and education and, during his tenure, overseeing international expansion to what is now reported as 10 laboratories and seven schools across 10 countries. Colleagues say Moses was a key figure in establishing the grading standards used globally by the institute today.

GIA has taken steps in recent years to prepare for this handoff. The institute appointed Sriram "Ram" Natarajan as senior vice president of laboratory operations last August, and GIA and Moses "have been preparing [for this transition] for the last few years." Over the next weeks and months Moses will work closely with research and laboratory teams to transition research and laboratory management to existing leadership teams and to further the institute’s research efforts.

Moses framed his career in personal terms in a statement reflecting on mentorship: "I have been extremely privileged to work with the two greatest gemmologists and have them as my mentors. I will always be grateful to Richard Liddicoat for hiring me and for his selfless guidance, and to Robert Crowningshield, with whom I worked closely for 20 years, for sharing his extraordinary knowledge and for his friendship. There is no better way to honour their legacy than through continued research that advances our understanding of Earth’s treasures."

GIA president and CEO Pritesh Patel praised Moses’s five decades of service, noting that his leadership and curiosity guided institutional growth and shaped standards and professionals across the trade. As Moses moves into an emeritus role variously described in announcements as chief of research emeritus, chief of gemological research emeritus, or Chief of Gemological Research, Emeritus, the institute enters a defined transition period that will vest day‑to‑day laboratory oversight with the leadership team already in place.