About Us

GeoGems is a firm of experts that serves the world of gems, through consulting and training services, in order to support the transformation of this sector towards more traceability, responsibility and trust. GeoGems tackles the scientific challenges of the gemstone market by adapting methods from the academic world.

GeoGems Team

Lauriane Pinsault

what is your background?

I am a geologist by training, specializing in exploration and mining. Initially, I chose to orient myself towards geology at the end of high school on the advice of my parents, who wanted me to do higher education (I was rather planning to be a jeweler or a seamstress). Finally, I fell in love with the history of the Earth, while keeping the link with jewelry by doing my DUG (University Diploma of Gemmology) in Nantes at the same time as my Master 1. After Nantes, I went to the University of Orléans to specialize in mining, with the aim of working on and at the origin of precious stones. At the end of my Master, I joined a field gemologist in several GIA expeditions to visit gem mines in Asia. It was in Mogok on one of these expeditions that I met the former general manager of the Montepuez mine in Mozambique. He offered me a job which I immediately accepted. I was in charge of developing and managing the data management systems of the mine, to follow the gemstones from the pit to the sales. I evolved within the company to eventually join the product and sales team. I worked on the quality control of rubies and emeralds, inventory management, the creation of lots sold at auction, as well as their valuation. I was also in charge of technological and traceability projects, such as the implementation of online auctions, blockchain and nanoparticles. In 2020, following the covid and after 5 years spent abroad and on planes, I moved to France, by the sea in Guérande. I worked for 9 months for an English blockchain start-up, but I quickly missed the gemstones too much. I then created my consulting business, for mining companies and other players in the gemological sector.

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE WITHIN THE COMPANY?

I am one of the founders of GeoGems and hold the position of president. All decisions and powers are shared equally between Boris, the Managing Director, and me. Beyond the management of the company, I am in charge of the consulting service which occupies most of my time. I also give courses and conferences for training, and help in research projects, especially for coordination and scientific advice.

WHY THE GEMSTONE SECTOR?

I come from a family where there was very little jewelry, and yet I have had this attraction for jewelry and gemstones since childhood. From the age of 6, I was weaving beads to make jewelry; in college I had even made a small business out of it, already the entrepreneurial spirit… It was during my geology studies that the science of gemstones seemed obvious to me, in particular this desire to know and understand their origins.

What do you do when you are not looking at Gemstones?

I am a fairly manual person, I like a lot of activities, from sewing to drawing and DIY. For example, I spent my last 2 years renovating a house. I am also involved in collective projects in my area of life in order to pool and share many things (vegetable garden, etc.). I obviously love nature, which I have the chance to discover through my professional and personal travels.

Boris Chauviré

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?

I have always been passionated about Nature in general, and the Earth and astronomy in particular. When I was young, I used to dig in the family gardens hoping to find stones there. Later, I found fascinating the faculty of science to be able to retrace the past, by simple observations. To know that several hundred million years ago, a volcano existed a few kilometers from my village, yet far from Auvergne. Observing beautiful minerals was awesome, and the gems are some of the most appealing. To get closer to gems, I hesitated to go into a professional sector (jewellery), but that was still considered a demotion after a general baccalaureate. I went to the University of Nantes for 8 years to obtain my doctorate, and then I sailed through the academic system between research and teaching, two facets that balance each other in my eyes.

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE WITHIN THE COMPANY?

Co-founder of GeoGems, we manage the company together. We have the same collegial vision of decisions, where the discussion between us is at the heart of our way of working, whether in day-to-day business between Lauriane and me, or more strategically between the three of us. At the same time, I manage the various research projects, with the collaborations with the Universities but also the scientific and analytical strategy that accompanies it.

WHY THE GEMSTONE SECTOR?

Always driven by the desire to understand how Nature works, I am fascinated by the possibility that any mineral, at some point, will be able to grow in an almost perfect way. While the majority of the minerals that make up the Earth are mundane, what leads, in this precise place, to having a mineral close to perfection?

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE NOT LOOKING AT GEMSTONES?

In intellectual work, it is easy to forget the physical and concrete side of what surrounds us. I often need to go out to observe the Nature I am trying to understand (a hike with a geologist can be hell), or to make useful things by carpentry, knitting or cycle mechanics. I also love working the land, through gardening where I created a small garden with neighbors in the courtyard of our building.

Marianna Corre

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?

I trained as a geochemist specializing in the analysis of trace elements in iron and chromium oxides. Passionate about precious stones since childhood, I completed a degree in Earth sciences at the University of Nantes in order to be able to obtain the DUG for a Master’s degree. However, the discovery of geochemistry along this course made me change my mind. Indeed, what interests me is to understand the history of the crystallization of a mineral, its context of formation until its establishment on the surface. And geochemistry is the discipline that can answer these questions. My various internships allowed me to familiarize myself with the laboratory environment and to confirm my desire to work with the various analysis tools. As a result, I completed the Brest Masters in Ocean Geology specializing in geochemistry. Then, I carried out a doctorate at the ISTerre laboratory in Grenoble which aimed to improve the dating protocol for magnetite and spinel by developments in analytical chemistry in order to obtain the ages of exhumation of the terrestrial mantle on the surface of Earth. Today, we can say that I am going back to the source while coupling geochemistry!

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE WITHIN THE COMPANY?

I am one of the founders of GeoGems and I would be in charge of the research and development part of the company. I take care of the geochemical analyzes of the gems (inclusions, rare earths) but also of the implementation of a protocol which will allow to know scientifically the mining origin of a stone.

WHY THE GEMSTONE SECTOR?

With my parents, we went hiking in the Pyrenees every summer and went to the markets. There was always a booth of minerals and I could stay there for hours contemplating them. The dealer was a former geologist, and one summer, seeing my interest, he invited my parents and me to his house to see his collection. He told us about his adventures in the field and that gave me lots of stars in my eyes. I had only one idea in mind: to be a geologist. I started collecting stones and mineralogy books while waiting to enroll in university. Of all the minerals, it was of course the gems that attracted me the most, their complexity, the history that men have woven around them, I wanted to learn more…

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE NOT LOOKING AT GEMSTONES?

I love nature and life in Grenoble allows me to hike and discover landscapes that change with each season as well as practice new activities (climbing, snowboarding, bivouac). I also like to knit and draw.

GeoGems History

where did you meet?

We can say that our origins are in Nantes. We all three studied, or at least part of it, at this University, in the Planetology and Geodynamics Laboratory. Having a few years apart, we were not in the same promotions but we knew each other through classes and the laboratory. during PhD, Boris had the license course load that Marianna was following, then they found themselves again by chance at the ISTerre laboratory in Grenoble in 2020 when Boris was doing a researcher contract and Marianna was starting her PhD. Then, after more than 7 years, the paths of Boris and Lauriane crossed again, at the end of 2021. It was from these chance encounters, and passionate discussions about the gems that everyone loves so much, that GeoGems was born.

What is the Origin of the GeoGems Project?

GeoGems is the perfect combination of our three courses. Boris, coming from the academic world, provided gemology courses in several schools; Marianna, at the end of her thesis, wanted to go into research in gemology; and Lauriane with market experience and a very applied vision, already had her consulting structure. Together, we quickly identified scientific advances which, by application to the problems of the stone sector, would represent significant innovations. We found ourselves in our desire to recreate the link between the academic world and the market, but also to improve the stone sector towards more sustainability and responsibility.