Whatever the occasion - birthday, anniversary, declaration of love, or proposal of marriage, diamonds commemorate the moment and develop a memory for a lifetime. If you’re like most people, you know very little about diamonds, their qualities, or their value. That’s why the American Gem Society was founded over 70 years ago. And in turn, the visionaries at AGS, dissatisfied with the status quo, saw the need for a diamond-grading laboratory that shared the AGS founding tenet of consumer protection, and offered a diamond report with detailed information about a diamond's quality for all 4 Cs including a Cut Grade for Round Brilliants.

In 1996, AGS created the American Gem Society Laboratories® (AGS Laboratories). Thanks to gemological pioneers, we now have precise criteria for evaluating diamonds, commonly known as the 4Cs — Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat Weight. The AGS Diamond Grading standards evaluate three of the four value factors (Cut, Color, and Clarity) on a 0 to 10 scale. The scale begins at 0 (zero), which is the highest grade, and moves down to 10, the lowest. These three factors are expressed individually and are combined with the fourth factor (the Carat Weight of the diamond) for the final AGS grade. This “science of diamonds” adds confidence to the art of buying a diamond.

The American Gem Society Laboratories was established to provide you with credible, yet unbiased, analysis of a diamond. The AGS Laboratories bases its analyses on the American Gem Society’s Diamond Grading Standards and maintains the most stringent criteria in the industry. Only AGS Laboratories can issue a grading report that uses the AGS Diamond Grading Standards.