The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has introduced a completely new, more powerful, and streamlined Web site at www.gia.edu. The Institute redesigned its Web site to make the massive amount of information and online services available from GIA easier for students, clients, the trade, and the general public to find and use.

Donna Baker, president and CEO of GIA, said, “The goal is to make the GIA Web site the destination of choice for anyone seeking the best, up-to-date gemological information.”

Besides the fresh modern graphics and style, the new site offers enhanced search capabilities, streamlined navigation and reorganized content, designed to provide visitors with an enjoyable experience.

The site’s home page is organized to deliver visitors to GIA’s most requested information in a single click. This includes in-depth descriptions of the GIA 4Cs, a video on how GIA grades diamonds, a colored stone buying tutorial, and GIA’s online report verification service, “Report Check.” In addition, the home page provides easier access to deeper content describing GIA educational programs, laboratory services and updates on GIA research activities, to name a few.

The new site also features new and/or enhanced interactive tools: a timeline depicting GIA’s 78-year history, a map of all GIA locations worldwide, Report Anatomies for GIA Diamond, Colored Stone and Pearl Reports, expanded Report Check services that now include Colored Diamond Grading Reports; and a News from Research feature, which provides article downloads of the latest gemological updates from GIA’s international research team.

In addition to new features, visitors can also find a wealth of content that existed on the old site, but now in a new guise. The Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library and Information Center maintains a strong presence with its reference materials, bibliographies, and image library. Gems & Gemology, the Institute’s award-winning research publication, offers previews of its latest issue, a data depository, access to its online format and, currently under construction, an archive of back issues dating to 1934.

In addition, the Web site provides an entryway into “My GIA,” the Institute’s password-protected portal, which also received an extensive makeover as part of the project. My GIA serves students, prospects, Laboratory clients and employees in targeted community environments. In My GIA, students can access eLearning courses, submit assignments for traditional distance education courses, enroll online, purchase books, and contact their instructors. My GIA also houses My Laboratory, the Institute’s online lab services, providing clients with round-the-clock access to their accounts. Here, clients can view grading results, monitor job status, order reports to be printed, and request an array of additional services.

In developing the new site, the Institute worked with Extractable, a Silicon Valley-based web development company to assess user needs and visitor behavior, develop the site’s infrastructure, functionality, look and feel, and content.

“The redesign has been a massive project, but it’s only the beginning of GIA’s new online presence. We now have a stronger architecture that will allow us to strategically add content and functionality in all areas,” said Baker.

“Our goal is to make GIA increasingly accessible to people around the world, with greater ability to get them the information and services they want instantly. In doing so, we better serve all our constituents, furthering our nonprofit mission of building global standards to ensure the public trust in gems and jewelry,” said Baker.

GIA’s Web site can be found at www.gia.edu