The AGS Laboratories offers a variety of diamond grading reports, both with and without a diamond cut grade, to suit the specific needs of diamond manufacturers, their customers, retail jewelers, and of course, the ultimate retail consumer. These reports are designed to present the necessary diamond quality information in a clear, concise and complete presentation. While most of our products feature information on diamond cut, and offer a diamond cut grade, we have a wide variety of reports to fit your needs.

If a diamond cut grade is an important factor to you in your diamond buying decisions, then ask for a diamond grading report from AGS Laboratories. We have everything you need in a diamond laboratory: a complete diamond grading report, the diamond cut grade, and the confidence that comes from knowing your report is from a diamond grading laboratory you can trust.

The AGS Laboratories reports, all of which are based on the standards of diamond grading set by the American Gem Society, are as follows:

The Diamond Quality Document
The Diamond Quality Report
The Diamond Quality Analysis
The Diamond Quality Certificate
The Diamond Consultation

Diamond Cut

Information is presented on the diamond's cut based on AGS Laboratories numeric and verbal descriptors. The numeric descriptors of our diamond cut grade follow the American Gem Society's standards for how well a diamond is cut from zero to ten, with zero being the very best and ten being the lowest grade. The verbal descriptors are AGS Ideal, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor.

AGS Ideal, also known as AG is a trademarked and registered term that applies only to finest cut diamonds. AGS Ideal is recognized throughout the world as the pinnacle of diamond cutting and as such commands higher prices at the wholesale and retail levels. Simply stated, AGS Ideal is the best. A diamond's cut single most important determinant of value of all of the four "Cs."

Diamond Clarity

Clarity information is also presented with numeric and verbal descriptors. The numeric system is the same as for cut from zero to ten. The verbal descriptors are trade terms originally developed to describe diamonds for diamond manufacturers and retailers. Over time, these terms have become recognized at the consumer level as well.

The diamond clarity terms are:
Flawless/Internally Flawless (F/IF)
Very,very slightly included (VVS1 and VVS2)
Very slightly included (VS1 and VS2)
Slightly included (SI1 and SI2)*
Included (I1, I2, and I3)

*The diamond clarity terms were originated by the Gemological Institute of America many years ago. Over time, diamond manufacturers, retailers, and laboratories have adopted the term SI3. This is supposed to represent a class of diamonds with a diamond clarity of between SI2 and I1. Neither the Gemological Institute of America nor the American Gem Society recognize this term for diamond grading.

Diamond Color

A diamond's color is determined by comparing the diamond to be graded with a master set of diamonds specifically chosen and graded for diamond color. Color is one of the four "Cs" evaluated in the grading process. The diamond to be graded is held by diamond tweezers and physically placed next to the individual diamonds in the master set. The diamond grader makes the decision by comparing the diamond to be graded against the master set. It is a judgment call and requires very good eyes as well as extensive experience.

The American Gem Society Color Grade indicates where a diamond's color falls on a scale that runs from 0 (colorless) to 10 (light yellow or light brown). There is another scale that is used by the trade to determine diamond color. Like the clarity grade mentioned above, the diamond color grading was developed by the Gemological Institute of America. Their system begins at the letter "D" and in a series of steps moves down from "D" all the way to "Z".

0 - Colorless. An unmounted diamond with this color grade shows no trace of color to even a trained AGS Laboratories diamond grader under controlled conditions when observed either through the table or the pavilion.

0.5 and 1.49 - Essentially Colorless. An unmounted diamond in these color grades will show only the faintest traces of color to trained AGS Laboratories diamond graders under controlled viewing conditions when observed through the pavilion.

1.5 to 3.49 - Near Colorless. Under grading conditions, an unmounted diamond in these color grades will show a slight trace of color. When mounted in jewelry, it will appear colorless.

3.5 to 4.99 - Faint. If a diamond in these grades weighs less than approximately 0.50 carat, it will appear near colorless when mounted. In a larger diamond, a little color may be discerned.

5.0 to 7.49 - Very light. A diamond in these grades will show some discernable color. The larger the diamond, the more noticeable the color.

7.5 to 10.0 - Light. The color is seen with increasing ease as the grade goes from 7.5 to 10.

Beyond the AGS 10 Color Grade, a yellow or brown diamond is classified as a fancy color. With diamond colors other than yellow or brown, any distinct tint qualifies as fancy, even if it is faint. However, as noted at the beginning of this section, the AGS Standards do not define diamond Color Grades for fancy color diamonds.