American Gem Society, AGS

AGS

The American Gem Society (AGS) was founded in 1934 by Robert M. Shipley, who also founded the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The AGS is dedicated to consumer protection through established standards of ethical business practices and the continuing education of its wholesale and retail members.

In the early 1990’s, an AGS Ad Hoc Committee recommended the development of a Diamond Grading Laboratory to quantify and popularize all of the factors that affect a diamond’s value and beauty. In addition to the Carat Weight of the diamond, the AGS’ Diamond Grading System rates Cut, Color, and Clarity on a scale of 0 through 10, with 0 being the rarest and most desirable and 10 being the least desirable.

Although the AGS Diamond Grading System was developed in the early 1960’s, it took technological advancements in the early 1990’s to make it economically feasible to quantify the most important of the 4 C’s - Cut. Prior to this time, Diamond Grading Laboratories did not quantify the quality of a diamond’s cut.

In 1996, the American Gem Society Laboratory became a reality. Over the next few years, the AGS Ideal 0 cut grade became the new international standard for diamond beauty and value. A diamond that achieves an AGS Ideal 0 cut grade epitomizes the factors that make a diamond maximally beautiful. Those factors are brilliance, dispersion (fire), and scintillation.

Gemological Institute of America, GIA Certified

GIA

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA), an independent nonprofit organization, was the first organization in the U.S. to provide lab certificates for diamonds. Established in 1931, GIA is the world’s foremost nonprofit institute of gemological research and learning.
GIA discovers, imparts, and applies gemological knowledge to help ensure the public trust in gems and jewelry. With over 800 employees, the Institute’s world-renowned scientists, researchers, gemologists, and educators have become recognized as the final authority on diamond grading and gem identification.

For example, GIA is the creator of the famous 4Cs of diamond value (color, clarity, cut, and carat weight). It is also the corporate birthplace of the International Diamond Grading System™. Today, GIA’s D-Z color-grading scale and GIA’s Flawless–I3 clarity-grading scale are recognized by virtually every professional jeweler and savvy diamond buyer in the world.

Internationally, GIA has become synonymous with the values of knowledge and integrity. And because of this, the Institute is regarded as the world’s foremost authority in gemology™. It is where diamonds from all over the world are sent for analysis and grading.

European Gemological Laboratory Inc, EGL

EGL

The European Gemological Laboratory, Inc. (EGL) opened its first grading laboratory in Antwerp, Belgium in 1974 and subsequently opened laboratories in New York, Los Angles, Johannesburg, Paris, Istanbul, London, Israel and Seoul. The EGL introduced the SI3 clarity grade that really is just the high-end I1 quality. The EGL certifications include crown height percentage and pavilion depth percentage which are very helpful specifications in determining quality of cut.

In addition to diamond certifications, the EGL also issues a condensed report on a diamond known as a consultation. In this document, only the carat weight, color grade, clarity grade and a plotting diagram is recorded. The difference between the consultation and the certification is that it does not have depth percentage, table percentage, polish, symmetry or fluorescence grades.