gia museum

A tour of the Gem Institute is a must-the types of gems,the carvings of gems -just beautiful-the guide was fun and knowledgable

Visited on a Wednesday late morning after obtaining required advance reservation. Beautiful campus, but very limited tour. Basically the rotunda, lobby, a couple of hallways, and a small but informative exhibit area beside the cafeteria. Don't go unless you're a gem lover or jewelry professional. Very much a homage to the GIA founders & large donors.

We took my diamond over to GIA to be graded and found this huge campus. Museum and school on property. Gorgeous gems and jewelry. Take the time and tour this facility.

I have taken the guided tour a couple of times and highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in gemstones and jewelry. It’s a small museum, but the guides are informative and I thoroughly enjoyed the tours I have taken. The tour is free, but you must make a reservation. Reservations are easy to make…. by either calling or e-mailing them. The museum is located on the Carlsbad campus of the Gemological Institute of America.

a short drive from LEGOLAND which was nice. We found parking to very limited. Almost left due to no spots and traffic. It was over Christmas holidays granted. After getting in though it was nothing special. It's an outlet mall.

A really interesting morning - the gem collection is fascinating, with many, many beautiful stones, some we'd heard of and others which were totally new to us. (e.g.: Benitoite, gem stone of California, stunningly beautiful....but I was unable to find any in jewellery shops while we were in California!) There's also a display of incredible close-up photos of precious stones, and as well as the actual stones there's lots of things made from precious stones - jewellery, ornaments, sculpture, even bras! The tour was supposed to last about 90 mins but our guide was so enthusiastic about his subject that we got over 2 hours, and then afterwards we were free to go back round the museum on our own if we wanted to. There was also a nice cafe with indoor and outdoor seating where we had lunch afterwards. A really cheap trip too, as it was free...and there was no gift shop. (I think that might have made it a VERY expensive trip!!)

Went with a school group and it was fun. Very informative and the people were super nice. Not a place that I would plan to go if I were just visiting Carlsbad but if you are interested in going there, it's world class!

You must make reservations at least a day ahead. The docent was not very knowledgeable, but the tour was still interesting. The tour is free, and the collection on view very beautiful.

This is a very small yet charming museum. It's really more of a school with wonderful exhibits which are open to the public. We opted for the guided tour because our 11 year old son is a gem/crystal nut. We had a wonderful time and saw some beautiful gems. It's a short and sweet tour -1.5 hour, and you can learn quite a lot. There is also a charming little bistro that has counter service for breakfast and lunch located where the tour ends if you want to get a bite to eat. There is a beautiful out door patio which overlooks the ocean if you want to eat outside. The food is all fresh and organic and there are several vegetarian options as well. If you like gems and crystal, don't miss this place. Be aware that the GIA is not open on the weekends and guided tours must be pre-arranged by email.

I visited GIA with my son's class as part of a field trip and was very impressed with the tour, information, and beautiful pieces of jewelry. The location looks out to the ocean and it's intriguing to see how much security is involved in protecting the precious gems housed here. If you have any interest in precious stones and rare jewels this is a fun place to explore.

We took the guided docent tour. So. Much. Talking. If you want to learn about the history of the GIA and what students there do, by all means take the docent tour.; Otherwise the displays are very informative and you can pace yourself around quite adequately. We really enjoyed seeing some truly amazing pieces and actually did learn quite a bit about various gem stones. It's an amazing place and worth seeing. Be prepared for a security check. There are millions of dollars of gems here needed to be protected. Glad we made the visit.

When I go on vacation I look for things off the beaten path. GIA did not disappoint. The tours are free but you have to make an appointment. We decided to take the self-guided tour but when we arrived there was a docent with nothing to do and she walked us around and gave us the history on everything. If you're in town, you have to visit the GIA.

This is a neat place to see. You can either book a fully guided tour or take a self-guided tour with a docent available to answer questions. I took the self-guided tour so I could spend as much or little time as I wanted touring the facility. There are lots of gorgeous jewelry pieces, gems, and mineral samples that are very impressive. You can also look inside the labs and see jewelers doing their training. Just make sure you have a reservation before you got for security reasons. Well worth a stop if you are in Carlsbad area.

I'm a gem hunter want to be so this place is a dream for me. If you appreciate earths bling check this place out

Very informative tour of about 1.5 hours. You not only learn about gems but they give information to make you a better investor of jewelry. They have rotating exhibits that make you ooh and aah. Make sure to make reservations ahead of time and get there about 15 minutes early to park. They do not let you go in any earlier than 15 minutes before a tour and require identification from all visitors. Not a tour for young children as it does into detail about gems.