OUR INSTRUCTORS
Nathan Renfro
- Nathan Renfro, a native of western North Carolina, developed an interest in minerals during his late teens, which was sparked by his grandfather’s rock collection. In 2006 he completed his undergraduate studies in geology and then went on to enroll at GIA for the resident Graduate Gemologist (GG) program as a recipient of the William Goldberg Diamond Corporation scholarship.
- After finishing the Graduate Gemologist program at GIA, he was hired by the GIA laboratory as a diamond grader and soon transferred to the Gem Identification department in 2008. Since then, Mr. Renfro has authored or co-authored more than one hundred gemological articles and lectured to several gem and mineral groups throughout the United States. His primary areas of gemological interest are photomicrography and identification of inclusions, gemstone cutting, and defect chemistry of corundum. Mr. Renfro is currently the Manager of the gem identification departments in Carlsbad, CA, and New York, NY. He is also a microscopist in the Inclusion Research Department. Mr. Renfro is the editor of G&G’s Microworld quarterly column which is published in the journal Gems and Gemology, where he is also a member of the editorial review board. Mr. Renfro also completed his FGA in 2014.