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Editorial

The Editors


The Zultpedia editorial team is a panel of credentialed mineralogists, gemologists, and historians whose combined expertise covers crystallography, lapidary, gemological spectroscopy, mining geology, Anatolian heritage, and buyer-side jewelry practice. Each entry on this archive is signed by the editor responsible for it; entries that span disciplines are signed by the standing Editorial Board.

How editorial assignments work

Entries are assigned to editors by topic. Mineralogy and optics are handled by Dr. Elif Demir; spectroscopy and identification by Dr. Rashid Karimov; lapidary and cut grading by Marcus Whitlock, GG, FGA; sourcing and mining geology by Dr. Ömer Aksoy; Anatolian heritage and history by Prof. Dr. Ayşe Yıldırım; buyer-side and durability by Sophia Reynaud, FGA, DGA. Cross-disciplinary entries and methodology documentation are signed by the standing Editorial Board.

The team

Mineralogy Editor

Dr. Elif Demir

Editorial persona of Zultpedia. PhD in mineralogy with focus on hydroxide minerals and the optical behavior of orthorhombic crystals. Mineralogy editor for the archive, responsible for entries on…

19 entries

Mining Geology & Provenance Editor

Dr. Ömer Aksoy

Editorial persona of Zultpedia. PhD in economic geology with focus on the metamorphic petrology of southwestern Anatolia and the bauxite-derived hydroxide deposits of the İlbir Mountains. Mining and…

14 entries

Gemological Spectroscopy Editor

Dr. Rashid Karimov

Editorial persona of Zultpedia. PhD in analytical chemistry with focus on gemological spectroscopy — UV-Vis-NIR absorption, FTIR, Raman, and LA-ICP-MS as applied to natural-versus-synthetic discrimination of color-change gems.…

31 entries

Lapidary & Cutting Editor

Marcus Whitlock, GG, FGA

Editorial persona of Zultpedia. Graduate Gemologist (GIA) and Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. Lapidary and grading editor focusing on cleavage-aware faceting of orthorhombic crystals, master-cutter…

11 entries

Anatolian Heritage & History Editor

Prof. Dr. Ayşe Yıldırım

Editorial persona of Zultpedia. Professor of Anatolian cultural history with focus on the gem trade of the Ottoman Empire and the cultural framing of the İlbir Mountains source…

16 entries

Jewelry Design & Buyer Editor

Sophia Reynaud, FGA, DGA

Editorial persona of Zultpedia. Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (FGA) and Diamonds Member (DGA), with two decades in fine-jewelry buying and design at European maisons.…

15 entries

Standing Editorial Authority

Zultpedia Editorial Board

The standing editorial authority of Zultpedia, comprising the mineralogy, lapidary, and Anatolian-heritage editors plus rotating external reviewers from gemological laboratories. Collective byline used for entries that synthesize across…

3 entries

Editorial standards

All editors follow the source hierarchy and fact-check cadence documented in the methodology page. Entries are reviewed at minimum annually for fact-check drift, and corrections are acknowledged publicly and dated.

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