Its mounted diamond reports will give split verdicts on color and most clarity ranges

The American Gem Society Laboratories has announced new programs to grade mounted goods and to sort batches of stones.

Developing the mounted-good program took some time, says Jason Quick, AGS Laboratories director.

“Before we finalized this, we spent time taking loose diamonds and putting them in temporary mountings and comparing the grades,” he says. “Eventually, we developed the skill set.”

The credit-card size Mounted Diamond Evaluation Reports include color and clarity grades, total carat weights as provided by the manufacturer, a verification of the mounting stamp, plus a confirmation that the diamonds are natural and untreated.

However, all the color grades will be split (H/I), as will the clarity grades, with the exception of the “I” range. In addition, it won’t give any diamonds the grade of “flawless,” and the reports also don’t include plots. All diamonds must be 0.18 ct. or more.

The laboratory is also offering diamond-sorting services for loose stones, which will sort goods of more than 0.18 ct. into categories the clients specify, such as minimum color or clarity.

The sorting is service is available for goods between 0.18 and 49.99 cts. with a minimum quantity of 50 stones.  

Quick says the AGS is offering the two services because there was market demand for them, and it’s seeing strong interest in both.

(Photo courtesy of AGS Laboratories)

Rob Bates

JCK News Director