About

​Elly P. Wedge,  GIA GG, AJP, Graduate Pearls
is an Associate Instructor of Gemology at GIA (Gemological Institute of America).
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Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Elly started her love for Gems and Minerals at the young age of 5 years old. Elly has been self-taught and accredited in Minerology as well as Gemology for over 20 years. Elly studied and earned a Graduate Gemologist diploma as well as her Applied Jewelry Professional and Graduate Pearls certificates from The Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, California.

With experience in retail sales and years of full-time jewelry and watch appraisal Elly is familiar with a wide range of jewelry and gemstones spanning all levels of the market. Her enthusiasm for the science of gemology brought her back to GIA as an instructor. In her words, "My time as a student at GIA allowed me to deepen my passion for gemstones and gemology, and I love helping students find their passion in this field as well."
Prior to joining GIA faculty, Elly worked at Cal Coast Jewelry Appraisers and specialized in jewelry appraisals for jewelry insurance, jewelry estates, jewelry liquidation, jewelry fair market, jewelry expert witness, and living wills for trusts. Elly’s career goal is to help others with her passion and knowledge in the jewelry appraisal industry by doing what she loves most in life. Elly has completed courses as follows; Graduate Diamonds, Graduate Colored Stones, Graduate Pearls, Diamond Essentials, Diamonds and Diamond Grading, Colored Stone Essentials, Colored Stones, Gem Identification, Diamond Grading Lab, Colored Stone Grading Lab, Gem Identification Lab, and Accredited Jewelry Professional GIA. Laboratory grown diamond workshop by Branko Deljanin, Canadian Gemlab.
The music tracks on this site feature Elly Wedge playing her fiddle. Aside from her passion for gemology, Elly is also an accomplished fiddler/violinist and stepdancer. She started playing at a very young age and won numerous trophies in fiddle and stepdance competitions. In 2013, she performed in the junior showcase of the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championships. Elly played in the fiddle duo, "Elly Squared", and in the "Richmond Ramblers Bluegrass Band" for many years. She loves to entertain and has performed at numerous events, weddings, fundraisers, and concerts.  Her repertoire of fiddle music is broad and her traditional old time music is a real crowd pleaser especially amongst senior citizens for whom she performed at numerous seniors residences over the years.