Would you like to know more about gemstones? If so, a new online course being developed by Gübelin Academy could be your next lockdown obsession, assuming you’ve already burned through Bridgerton with the rest of us.

Gübelin Academy is the educational arm of the family-owned luxury Swiss jeweller of the same name. As well as crafting jewels that cater to the rich and the famous since 1854, Gübelin is also a pioneer in gemmology, opening its own Gem Lab in the 1920s to authenticate the stones passing through its workshops. Close to a century later, Gübelin opened the Gübelin Academy in 2013 in Hong Kong, where it also has a Gem Lab and store. The Gübelin Academy also offered courses in Switzerland and Shanghai, and now you can also study online.

Courses at the Gübelin Academy to date have offered a deep dive into gemmology, allowing professionals to build their knowledge level by level. New to the roster of online courses in 2021 is a course tailored to beginners, called The Basics, which Gübelin describes as appealing to “gem aficionados, connoisseurs, collectors [and] jewellery experts”, as well as complete beginners.

The online course focuses on what the jewellery world refers to as ‘the big three’ coloured gemstones – rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Covering both the scientific and emotional appeal of these gems, the online jewellery course takes the form of video lessons delivered by experts based in Switzerland, Hong Kong and New York, as well as interviews with gem insiders such as the curator who manages the Gübelin Gem Lab reference collection of more than 27,000 different gemstones.

Gübelin’s The Basics course is split into four segments with an exam at the close of each, and the gem experts promise that no previous knowledge is required to enrol.

Should your passion for gems leave you thirsty for more knowledge once passing successfully through The Basics digital course, you will automatically qualify for Gübelin’s Coloured Gem Professional: Level 2 course. From there, you can continue to build your knowledge gem by gem.

“Innovation, knowledge and digitisation are key factors in our family-owned company,” says Gübelin president Raphael Gübelin. “We can share our knowledge, inspiration and passion with interested persons all over the world – digitally.”

Gübelin’s The Basics online jewellery course is available in English and costs $265. Click here to enrol