Claudia Florian is the Consulting Director of Bonhams Natural History Department in Los Angeles. She handles business getting, valuations and organising sales of world-class minerals, meteorites, gemstones, jewellery and carvings.

Since she joined Bonhams in 2003, Florian has created specialised theme sections within auctions, such as exotic gemstone jewellery, décor, Lapidary Works of Art, the "100 Carats Club" and Rough and Cut, as well as highlighted theme minerals, to distinguish the department from competitors. In November of 2010, she organised the first-ever international auction devoted exclusively to opal in all of its forms.

Always searching for unique designs which incorporate rare and unusual gemstones, Florian has dedicated much of her business getting skills to seeking out established and emerging contemporary designers and lapidary artists. She strives to showcase major examples of these works in the Natural History auctions held twice annually across the US.

Florian is a Graduate Jeweller Gemologist, who has more than 27 years of experience in the auction business. Prior to taking her position at Bonhams, Florian was the Director of Jewellery for a large international auction house in Hong Kong. There, she gained considerable experience selling fine quality gemstones and estate jewellery to a discerning clientele. Her previous experience with Natural History began in 1995 when, as Senior Vice President in charge of the New York branch of another large auction company, she oversaw the establishment of the first U.S.-based Natural History Department.

Florian is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., where she earned a BA in Psychology, and minored in Art History. She is also a certified Graduate Jeweller Gemologist, with diplomas from both the Gemological Association of Great Britain and the Gemological Institute of America.

A member of the Society of Jewellery Historians, the Women's Jewellery Association and the Gem and Mineral Council of Los Angeles County, Florian has also participated in PBS' "Antique's Roadshow®" as an estate jewellery appraiser.