From Books to Broadcast, Antoinette L. Matlins Tells It Like It Is

If you’ve been in the jewelry industry for a decade or more, you possess a strong dedication to the craft. If you write about the industry and are consistently published, then add a die-hard passion for gem and jewelry art. Some take it the next level. These are the teachers, the truth-tellers; those compelled to project widespread awareness on fraud and misrepresentation. One woman could easily check “all of the above.” Enter Antoinette L. Matlins, PG and FGA, an internationally respected gem and jewelry expert, author, and lecturer. 

By Dan Scott

Antoinette at an early age. "I was born lucky and enjoyed a sparkling life journey…few could have had as wonderful a life, as me and my brothers and sisters!"

Antoinette's father, Antonio Bonanno, walks her down the aisle at her wedding in 1977.

After a successful career in advertising, Antoinette turned to her true calling - gems and jewelry.

Antoinette is with Jules Sauer, who died in 2017 at 95. He was the founder of Amsterdam & Sauer in Brazil and around the world, and who was known as the "Gemstone Hunter" after discovering the first emerald mine in Brazil.

Antoinette Matlins shares a moment with Mark Cullinan, of Cullinan Diamonds, at a trade show.

Antoinette Matlins explaining to TV personality, author and psychologist, Dr Ruth Westheimer, the unique qualities of the gems in the necklace she had just put on, prior to the Antiquorum 1992 “Magnificent Jewels of Cartier” auction.

In 2009, dancing with “her favorite Brazilian gemologist," Walter Leite, of Real Gems Laboratory (iRio de Janeiro) during the AGA Dinner Gala in Tucson, celebrating the presentation of the Antonio C Bonanno Award For Excellence In Gemology to Christopher Smith of American Gemological Laboratories (AGL).

Matlins with noted diamond cutter, Gabi Tolkowsky, in Idar-Oberstein, Germany.

Matlins with a string of pearls celebrating the publication of The Pearl Book: The Definitive Buying Guide.

Antoinette Matlins in London with legendary British gemologist Alan Jobbins (1925 - 2019) at a Gem-A gem conference around 2010. Antoinette and Alan were both presented with the AGA’s Antonio C. Bonanno Award For Excellence in Gemology in 2005, a unique situation that had never occurred before, nor since.

Her first book in 1984 set the stage for her publication success. Jewelry & Gems: The Buying Guide has sold over a quarter of a million copies and is the only book of its kind ever offered by Consumer Reports. It is also “The book you can’t do without… all the information you need, in no-nonsense language,” as proclaimed by Rapaport Diamond Report. This form of praise continued into her future works, each with celebrated endorsements and winning sales. Her books are now published in many languages including Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese and Chinese.
     Just as the title of Jewelry & Gems: The Buying Guide implies, Matlins presents a direct and decisive means of properly procuring gemstones and fine jewelry. Within the book, she details how to buy diamonds, pearls, a vast array of colored gemstones, gold and fine jewelry with newfound knowledge and confidence.
     Matlins’ fascination with gemology and a flair for communicating through text is in her blood. From the time she could walk, she began accompanying her father—one of America’s leading gemologists, Antonio Bonanno—on mineral collecting and prospecting trips around the country.  [Bonanno, FGA, ASA, MGA, was founder and president of the National Gem Appraising Laboratory, director of the Columbia School of Gemology, and, in 1974, he founded the Accredited Gemologists Association (AGA).]
     Consequently, Antoinette developed a passion for the field, and has been collecting and studying stones ever since, even when she followed her interests into other fields. Matlins also co-authored two books with her father. In 2005, she was honored to receive her father’s namesake award, the Antonio C. Bonanno Award for Excellence in Gemology, presented by the AGA, celebrating her contributions to the industry.
     Her success of her first book launch provided plenty of motivation for Matlins to write again. Staying true to her dedication to help people know what they’re  buying and selling, and with people constantly asking her to write a book focused on how to get the most from your engagement ring shopping experience, she and her dad embarked upon Engagement & Wedding Rings: The Definitive Buying Guide for People in Love, the book she enjoyed writing more than any other. It became a favorite at Barnes & Noble bookstores followed by many 5-star reviews on Amazon’s book  list.
     Antoinette thought this would be the last book, but she was wrong. With pressure mounting from her students to write a book explaining the simple techniques she taught in the hands-on gem-identification workshops she developed with her father, and realizing that what she was teaching wasn’t available anywhere else, she finally gave in and wrote the next book, Gem Identification Made Easy. It won the Benjamin Franklin award for “how-to” books! 
     Pearls were also not to be ignored, as they are perhaps Matlins’ favorite gem. As she is quick to point out it wasn’t a diamond, but a pearl that was the first gem ever associated with love and marriage (at least 3500 years ago, and possibly longer). For Matlins, this makes sense because she sees the pearl as a metaphor for life, something that would never have been created were it not for having to overcome adversity. This is why she chose a natural pearl for her engagement ring, and she thinks about its symbolism every day. So, with new types, colors, and sizes of pearls appearing, and cultured pearls being misrepresented as natural, she had to write The Pearl Book: The Definitive Buying Guide.
     Matlins admits that she actually hates to write, but does so when she thinks there is something important that people need to know and that no one is telling them, especially when it comes to gems and jewelry. Thus, she went on to write Colored Gemstones: The Antoinette Matlins Buying Guide; Diamonds: The Antoinette Matlins Buying Guide, and Jewelry & Gems at Auction: The Definitive Guide to Buying & Selling at the Auction House.
     But one platform alone may outshine a series of books. That single platform was National Jeweler magazine, one of two kingpins in jewelry trade magazines and websites. It was this magazine where Matlins served as gemology editor for nearly a decade. Her articles continued past this platform as she appeared in global consumer and trade publications and positioned on every major television network and well-known programs such as Good Morning America, The Today Show,  Oprah and on CNN. 
     Yet, it was the chapter she wrote in the Encyclopedia of Investments, the second edition, which gained global recognition and opened a new door for Matlins, who is also an outspoken and candid consumer advocate. Promoting honesty, integrity and full gemstone disclosure, Matlins went on to spearhead the AGA’s nationwide campaign against gemstone investment telemarketing scams and to speak her mind to mass audiences via print media, national radio, and as a guest lecturer to consumer and business groups.
     Bringing seldom spoken industry secrets to light was becoming commonplace for Matlins. She informed consumers to hold back on buying jewelry until they knew the facts. To drive the point home, a chapter that appears in all of her books includes real-life stories involving false claims, fraud and misrepresentation. In speaking to people who’d purchased her first book, she quickly learned that it’s the first chapter most people turned to, taking its sage advice to heart.  In a team effort style of acceptance, the book became a gift item for select jewelry stores bold enough to realize that people were going to read it, so better to help spread the message than fight it.    

Antoinette and her husband Stuart pose by a warning sign about weapons in a 4-star hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Antoinette with tribal dealers in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province, examining tourmaline and aquamarine. One of their largest aqua crystals was a “composite.” The stone was colorless, but a large section had been removed, “painted” and then reinserted with some glue!

Antoinette with Prime Minister Azad of Kashmir in one of her early trips to the area.

Antoinette muses that "sometimes you have to 'dive deep' to get to the truth about the gems in the jewels! So of course, scuba diving was added to my skill set years ago! It proved helpful when checking out the cultured pearl operation in Guaymas Mexico, in its infancy. They surpassed even my strict standards!"

Matlins frequently appears on national television programs talking about gemstones. (Image montage created by Luxe Licensing)

The first and most comprehensive books for consumers about gems and jewelry. (Image montage created by Luxe Licensing)

     One chapter she added to all her books is red hot. It details how rubies are one of the “most durable, beautiful and wonderful” gems, but that “many rubies sold in the marketplace today are not 100% genuine. Many gemstones are enhanced in some way to make them more attractive; it’s an industry-wide practice that's been happening for decades. Even exclusive high-end jewelers, such as Cartier, Harry Winston and Tiffany, sell treated gemstones.” A response from Tiffany was noted as: “Since the ancient Egyptians, emeralds have been soaked in colorless oil to make them appear more beautiful.” Interestingly, that statement only prompted more investigation into oil and heat-related treatments. But this didn’t compare to what was about to occur.

Antoinette traveled extensively with her father Antonio Bonanno. Shown here, they are onboard the QE2 in 1985 to lecture passengers during the world cruise. She and her father lectured aboard top cruiseliners for about 15 years, including the QE2, Royal Viking lines and Crystal Cruises, focusing on what to look out for when buying, what to ask for in writing and where/how to verify their purchase when passengers returned home.

     A much more controversial conversation was now unleashed—people were paying top dollar for rubies that were not real. Some were even, at times, more glass than gemstone. The news of lead glass used to fill fractures had not been publicized, but now it was, and in a viral way.    
     Terms such as “counterfeit merchandise” paraded down every major department store jewelry-shopping aisle and into jewelry chains and corner shops. Plus, this riveting reveal was wrapped around the Valentine’s Day holiday, the second most popular jewelry-purchasing period in the United States and many parts of the world.
     From Main Street to Wall Street, hearts were racing and not in a good way. One wonders how many jewelers grabbed their chest watching the evening news with Matlins stating, “These aren’t real rubies,” and “experts estimate that over 90% of rubies sold in jewelry stores worldwide have been treated in some way.” But she also stressed that these were "treated" with techniques that were considered acceptable and used routinely for many decades. The new treatment with lead-glass was a different story altogether, and many jewelers and even gem dealers did not realize what they really were. This red stone news caused many red faces. Anger and shame led to a drop in ruby sales for quite a while and bruised the trust of many consumers buying from anyone.
     The Ruby Exposé caused local news networks to race to local jewelers around February 14 to air investigative reporting. Caught on tape, lies ran rampant as news feeds forced major jewelry chains to clearly display counter signage disclosing that the rubies set in their rings, necklaces, and earrings were filled with a percentage of lead glass. Matlins says there are untreated or “naturally beautiful” rubies, but these stones are among the rarest of the rare and are often priced in seven-figures.
     “The lead-glass fillers are invisible to the naked eye,” Matlins says, “ and are very different from minuscule amounts of other fillers introduced a few decades ago, and which are considered an acceptable practice if properly disclosed.” Matlins has lectured extensively to jewelry trade groups about these adulterated stones and how easily they break and chip, or worse. She’s not kidding. A ruby with 20% or more lead-glass will crack apart when immersed in a jeweler’s cleaning solution, and should anyone accidentally splatter lemon juice onto one of these rubies, the damage is visible and irreparable. “Lead-glass also weighs much more than ruby, so even the represented weight of ‘ruby’ is greatly inflated. In short, lead-glass forever alters, conceals and changes the stone," Matlins adds, noting that this is a “very serious consumer problem facing the trade these days, but she’s working hard to help change that.”
     She has long pointed out to the trade that for jewelers to continue to suggest that treatment goes back millennia remains a seriously misleading statement. "While treating does go back millennia," Matlins adds, "to suggest that extensive, routine treating dates that far back is a false statement. Routine heating of sapphires started in the 1960s and that of rubies in the 1970s." Matlins won’t comment on whether this is deliberate or the result of ignorance, but whatever the case, she points out that to continue this myth reflects badly on any jewelry store. Matlins also suggests that it is such behavior by the jewelry trade itself that will undermine consumer confidence, not her efforts. 
     With Matlins’ nonstop ethical drive, be prepared for more eye-opening news and a message ignited by pure, personal passion. 
    All images are courtesy of Antoinette Matlins unless otherwise indicated.

Dan Scott is a brand architect with Luxe Licensing with current or past clients including Chanel, Gucci Jewelry and numerous young brands. He welcomes conversation and may be reached by email at [email protected].

Antoinette and her son in the early days, selling her books from their cart in Tucson.

Antoinette with Monica, the sales director of Gemstone Press, around 1989.

Antoinette leading the Woodstock, Vermont “Wassail Horse & Carriage Parade,” riding side-saddle. She started this "holiday" event in 1985, and has been leading it ever since—next year will be the 35th anniversary of the parade.

Antoinette with Donna Baker (then CEO & President of GIA) and GIA’s Shane McClure following his having been presented with the 2007 Antonio C Bonanno Award For Excellence in Gemology.

Among Antoinette’s friends was Anna Miller, gemologist, appraiser and author (who died prematurely in 2003).

Antoinette at an emerald mine with Jamie Hill, who discovered gem-quality emeralds in Hiddenite, North Carolina. She was amazed at the quality of emeralds she saw and has written about this "find."

Antoinette and her husband Stuart at the Obama White House for a Hanukkah party.

Antoinette and her father dancing at an AGA gala in Tucson, in 1994.