With the growing consumer appetite for luxury items in China, jewelry appraisers are in greater demand than ever before, which is great news for Zhou Zhao.
"I am so glad to be dealing with jewelry, something so beautiful and fascinating. Because people are more able to afford jewelry there is a large market for it, so I feel the time is right for this major," said Zhou, a jewelry appraisal junior at China University of Geosciences (CUG).
Although universities such as Nankai University in Tianjin and Guilin University of Technology (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region) are currently have programs in jewelry appraisal to meet the job market demand, none offer a more prestigious program than that of CUG in Wuhan, Hubei Province.
However despite the programs work, the supply of qualified grads is still falling short of demand, a fact reflected in increasing salaries, according to Shen Li, a student counselor for appraisal majors at CUG.
"Some seniors have already been scouted before they graduate," explains Shen. "And once they gain a little experience, companies offer salaries as much as 10,000 yuan ($1,465) a month."
In order to be certified, jewelry appraisal (academically referred to as lapidary) entails rigorous study ranging from geology to economics, jewelry history to design. Appraisers are expected to fully understand everything from the molecular structure down to the current market value of 30 kinds of common precious stones at any given time.
Because the major requires a thorough understanding of how stones are formed, students are often outside the classroom conducting field research or on internship.
"My teacher would lead research teams to the mountains in Wuhan to observe the geological structure of stones and study topography first hand," Zhou said.
Students not only study precious stones, but also are well versed in metals and pearls.
During the summer vacation of his freshman year, Zhou and his classmates visited Zhejiang Shanxiahu Pearl Group to study artificial pearl production and differentiating quality grades.

Students also visited jewelry conventions in Guangzhou, studying the history of jewelry culture in China, as well as interning with Hong Kong jewelry designers, learning about gold and silversmithing diamond rings.
But according to Zhou, keeping a close eye on all aspects of the market is key to understanding value fluctuation.
"I would just browse jewelry markets and jewelry dealers shopping malls to get a better idea of pricing and popular designs, all of which is quite helpful broadening our understanding of the profession," Zhou said.
At the end of their junior year, students are eligible to test for the GIC jewelry appraisal certificate. Held by CUG's gemological institute, the certification is the most authoritative in China.
"Three years of study is barely enough to enable us to pass the exam," Zhou said.
Despite the comparatively high demand for jewelry appraisers, standards remain high, especially at CUG.
"Jewelry appraisers here usually have science background, because it involves lots of mathematics, physics and chemistry and high college entrance exam scores," Zhou said.
The only downside of this major, according to Zhou, is that you automatically become a free appraisal service for your friends and relatives.
"Every time I go back home for vacation, my relatives come and ask me to appraise new jewelry they had bought. Friends often ask me to go with their relatives or parents to buy jewelry," explained Zhou.
"But I like helping out because it's also a chance to test out what I've learned."
Shopping for the right rock
Zhou Zhao offers up his valuable training with a quick tutorial for novice diamond buyers on how to separate fakes from the flawless.
Breathe!
Try to fog up the diamond with your breath. If the diamond is real, air would vaporize instantly and there won't be any condensation left on the stone. A fake, on the other hand, clouds up.
Making it clear
Put the diamond in question on a piece of newspaper. Place it in a position so that the light in the room is coming from directly overhead. Then look into the diamond: If it is real, you won't be able to read any of the text clearly. If it's fake, you'll be able to read the letters easily.
Making the cut
Like often seen in movies, a real diamond is hard enough to cut through glass. But this method is likely to damage the stone, so try to restrain yourself (no matter how fun it looks.)