AGS Labs Featured in Leading Industry Events

Las Vegas, August 10, 2006: AGS Laboratories will be featured in two leading industry events in August. The Lab will participate in the poster sessions during GIA's International Gemological Symposium August 27-29 in San Diego. The poster presentation, "The AGS Performance Cut Grading System," will give participants a better understanding of how AGS Lab graders apply cut grades to diamonds, as well as the particular role of certain elements assessed, such as proportion factors.

"A thorough understanding of these parameters and the metrics that measure them can help identify which cuts produce the best appearance," said Peter Yantzer, Executive Director of AGS Laboratories. "This helps everyone from the cutter to the retailer, and ultimately means a better variety of choices for the consumer."

The poster sessions offer what GIA has called "the world's fair of knowledge, a grading floor of ideas and information." The sessions focus on education rather than merchandise. Poster presentations will include graphics and text in story-board form, and each is self-explanatory. The format allows jewelers to read information at their leisure.

On August 23, Yantzer will be a featured speaker at the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers in San Diego. The presentation, "Using the AGS Cut Analysis Tools in Appraising," will explain and demonstrate the AGS Performance Grading Software, which can be used to grade the Standard Round Brilliant, the Princess Cut and the Emerald Cut (square and rectangular), and the AGS Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool (ASET), a device used to evaluate cutting quality in loose or mounted diamonds.

"Once you have an understanding of the ASET and with a little experimentation, you can use it to generally evaluate any shape or cut," says Yantzer.

In 2005, AGS launched their Performance Cut Grade system. The science supporting the system reflects their transition from a proportion-based to a performance-based cut grade system, where all facets of a diamond are measured in three dimensions rather than two dimensions. The Lab uses state-of-the-art ray tracing software to trace light traveling through a diamond. The software demonstrates the quantity and quality of the light being returned to the viewer. AGS Laboratories considers brightness, dispersion, leakage, contrast, and weight ratio, in addition to proportion, symmetry, and polish, when assigning a final cut grade.

For more information regarding AGS Laboratories' please visit www.agslab.com or email marketing@agslab.com. An abstract of the AGS Performance Cut Grade System can be viewed in the trade section of the website, along with cutting chart guidelines for various shapes. For information on the AGS Performance grading tools, please visit ags.org.

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