Our Team
CORTNEY BALZAN
A dedicated student, teacher & master in the gem & jewelry world
Cortney Balzan was among the first few tested Master Gemologist Appraisers (MGAs) in the United States and Internationally. Cortney was the first MGA in Northern and Central California. He has been participating in the gem, jewelry, and appraising world since the early 1980's, and became a Master Gemologist Appraiser with the Accredited Gemologist Association (AGA) in 1983 and with the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) in 1987.
Cortney was introduced into the jewelry world in the late 1960's as a teenager designing and selling jewelry. Graduating from George Washington University in Washington D.C. in Political Science/International Relations led to marketing efforts for an American jewelry firm selling domestically and exporting overseas in 1979. Lacking the appropriate knowledge in gemology, he enrolled in the Gemological Institute of America (G.I.A.) residence program in Santa Monica, California and earned the Graduate Gemologist Diploma. Still eager for more knowledge and education, he began to travel throughout the world. He visited the Japanese pearl centers, lakes, and bays to learn of freshwater and saltwater pearls with the pearl farmers showing him the culturing techniques. He went to gem and jewelry centers in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sri Lanka to learn about colored stones. This continued yearly as well as expanding travels to European, Mexico, Central and South American centers. From 1986 to 1994 Cortney also studied manufacturing of jewelry at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts. He strongly feels that to be one of best in his field, one needs to be proficient in gem, jewelry, and valuation sciences as they all tie in together.
Still continuing his pursuit for more knowledge, Cortney decided to dedicate the next two decades to giving back to the industry by teaching others what he worked so hard to learn and master and what so many had generously shared with him. Obtaining a Post-Secondary Teaching Credential from the state of California, he started the American Gemological Learning Center and established the Allied Teaching Center with the Gemological Association and Gem Testing Laboratory of Great Britain, the oldest gemological association in the world. He taught at both the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts and at the American Gemological Learning Center in San Francisco. In 1992, he helped coordinated G.I.A.'s first Advanced Diamond and Colored Stone Grading Course which is still offered today. He was one of the first to introduce Yehuda clarity enhanced diamonds to the industry for educational studies nationwide and with the G.I.A. As Regional Governor, Historian, Vice President, and two terms as International President of the Accredited Gemologist Association (AGA), he coordinated many educational conferences throughout the United States on important gemological/valuation topics. During this time for three consecutive years, he was named WHO'S WHO in the U.S. Diamond Education World by DeBeers U.S. Liason.
Currently, Cortney is owner of Balzan Laboratories, Inc. He coordinates modern jewelry consultations, fabrications, restorations, and gem replacements to one of the largest retailers in the United States. He continues to work with governmental agencies locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Cortney still considers himself as a designated student, teacher and master in the gem and jewelry world.
More team members to come...
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