Salomon Lutumba - Director of Education

Salomon Lutumba is an alumnus of Birmingham City University where he graduated with a Bachelor in Science with honours in Gemmology and Jewellery studies in 2016. He also holds a Diamond Diploma and Gemmology certificate from Gem-A. He is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where in fact, the subsoil is one of the richest in the world in terms of geology and mineralogy.

Since the country has gold in respectable quantities, he joined his uncle, a jeweller in 1995, as a business partner in buying and selling jewelleries, scrap and rough gold at the big city market of Kinshasa. Sometimes the pieces would be set with fascinating and attractive coloured stones. Unfortunately, since their priority was gold and they lacked knowledge regarding gemstones, they could not deal with them. However Salomon was fascinated and captivated by the beauty and mystery of those mounted stones. As a consequence, he developed a passion for gemstones and in the process discovered that his own country contained a wide variety of mineral species with many having a high aesthetic and monetary value. Sadly there were no colleges or training centres offering a gemmology program in the Democratic Republic of Congo that allowed him to pursue his interest, only abroad.

In 2002 he relocated to England where, ten years later, he found the opportunity to fulfil his dream of studying gemmology at the Birmingham City University. In 2012, he started his High National Diploma in Gemmology combined with Gem-A’s Diamond and Gemmology program which led to a degree program, introduced for the first time in 2015, at the BCU.

Today, by embracing the World Gem Foundation’s concept and philosophy of gemmological education, and through the Gem Academy of DRC, he would like to share his passion and knowledge of gems with his fellow Congolese; particularly jewellers, aspiring gemmologist and gemstone lovers. His personal ambitious goal is to promote the science of gemmology in his country, by providing information and support to empower people in the jewellery business and those trading in stones.