AGL News

Press Releases

Inside Pink Diamonds by Christopher P. Smith, Elizabeth Quinn-Darenius, Sharrie Woodring-Hand

In today's diamond and jewelry market, few products garner as much attention as pink diamonds. These alluring stones are achieving record prices at auction and are being incorporated into unique jewelry items by the most exclusive jewelry retailers. Yet few realize just how many varieties of pink diamonds are actually present in the marketplace today.

NEW YORK- May 23, 2008 – Recently the American Gem Trade Association Gemological Testing Center (AGTA-GTC) and American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) received a number of faceted tanzanite samples that were determined to have been coated. Evan Caplan of Omi Gems, Inc. sent samples to several labs after a light repolishing of a few stones resulted in a noticeable loss of color.

NEW YORK- March 26, 2008 – Specific comments on risks and requirements of enhancement disclosure are now available on video featuring Robin Spector of the Federal Trade Commission, Cecelia Gardner of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee and Christopher Smith of American Gemological Laboratories, Inc. as recorded at the Winter JA Show held in March in New York.

NEW YORK CITY, March 9, 2008 – With the introduction provided by Jewelers Vigilance Committee Chief Executive Officer Cecelia Gardner of Robin Spector an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission, the presentation of “Colored Gemstone Sales: Are you Compliant or at Risk?” was launched and the results were both detailed and fascinating.

Tucson, AZ - February 25, 2008 – With detailed and specific recommendations backed by decades of experience and current research, Diane Warga-Arias of DWA Communications and C.R. “Cap” Beesley of American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) set forth several keys to selling gemstones to the wealthy at the AGTA Show in Tucson, Arizona.

New York - December 14, 2007 - The cover story of the December 2007 issue of Rapaport focuses on the Kashmir Sapphire in a story titled "The Kashmir Legend." In the story Amber Michele, Rapaport's Editor-in-Chief speaks with C.R. "Cap" Beesley, President of American Gemological Laboratories, Inc. about his personal journey to the heartland of Kashmir to discover the sources of the famed Kashmir Sapphire. With this landmark expedition, Beesley has become one of only 3 laboratory gemologists to visit these legendary deposits, the last of which was 20 years ago. Political instabilities in the region have significantly curtailed gem exploration and excavation activities however a sparse supply of these coveted gems still find their way to the international gemstone trade.

New York, NY, August 1 - Christopher P. Smith, vice president and chief gemologist of American Gemological Laboratories, recently joined a gathering of distinguished researchers and gemologists from around the world during the 1st European Gemmological Symposium, held in June 2007 in honor of the 75th anniversary of the German Gemmological Association (GGA).

New York, NY, July 26 – Christopher P. Smith, internationally renowned gem expert, vice president and chief gemologist at American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), recently served as lead author of a groundbreaking article published in the Spring 2007 issue of Gems & Gemology, the award-winning journal.

New York, NY – July 23, 2007 - The Richard T. Liddicoat Journalism Award for Industry/Trade Reporting will be awarded to Christopher P. Smith, Vice President and Chief Gemologist of American Gemological Laboratories, along with co-authors Shane McClure, Wuyi Wang and Matt Hall, by the American Gem Society for the article, “Identification and Durability of Lead Glass-Filled Rubies,” which was published in the Spring 2006 issue of Gems & Gemology. The award will be presented on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 at the Circle of Distinction Dinner.

New York, NY – American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), one of the world’s leading laboratories specializing in the grading and documentation of colored stones, recently announced the appointment of colored stone specialist Elizabeth P. Quinn, B.Sc, G.G., FGA, as senior staff gemologist.

New York, NY - May 15, 2007 -American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) and Gem Certification & Assurance Lab (GCAL), the Official Colored Gemstone and Diamond Laboratories of the JCK Shows, are teaming up with Jewelers For Children (JFC) to raise funds for children in need during Las Vegas market week May 29 through June 5.

New York – May 4, 2007 - C.R. “Cap” Beesley, president of American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), will speak at the upcoming International Colored Stone Association (ICA) Congress, to be held in Dubai May 5-9, 2007. As one of the keynote speakers, Beesley will focus on the importance of consumer confidence in continuing to grow colored gemstone jewelry in the luxury fashion category. His presentation will precede an industry panel discussion on the importance of gemological laboratories in fostering consumer confidence.

New York – April 24, 2007 – Eternity Natural Emerald, a division of Arthur Groom & Co., has chosen American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) as its certification service to provide identification, grading, enhancement and other services on its Natural Emeralds. Eternity Natural Emeralds supplies both non-enhanced natural emeralds and natural emeralds enhanced with the proprietary ExCel Process, a colorless and stable advanced polymer that can be removed only by Eternity, which carries a lifetime guarantee.

TUCSON, AZ - February 4, 2007 — A panel of CEO’s interacted with a passionate audience on the topic of “Colored Stone Grading: Friend or Foe?” The panel discussion held on Saturday, February 3, 2007 at the Hotel Arizona during the Tucson’s International Gem & Mineral Show addressed a standing-room-only crowd and was sponsored by C.R. “Cap” Beesley, President of American Gemological Laboratories (AGL).

TUCSON, AZ- February 1, 2007 - In support of their shared goal of increasing consumer confidence and awareness of gemstones, International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) and American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) and Gem Certification & Assurance Lab (GCAL), both subsidiaries of Collectors Universe, announced an initiative to enter a partnership to brand third party verification to achieve the goal of imparting consumer confidence, education and appreciation of gemstones.

New York, NY – January 23, 2007 - American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) has added Wendi Mayerson as Senior Staff Gemologist. Mayerson, a geologist and Graduate Gemologist of GIA’s Resident Program, spent almost 14 years with the Gemological Institute of America. She began as an instructor, became Manager of the Resident Graduate Gemologist Program in both Santa Monica and Carlsbad and Manager of Advanced Gemology before transferring from GIA Education to the New York Identification and Research division of GIA’s Gem Trade Laboratory, where she spent her last 6 years as a gem identification expert. A published author and regular contributor to Gems & Gemology magazine, Wendi brings with her over 18 years of experience in the jewelry industry. She has worked in many different venues prior to her career at GIA, including customer service at Fortunoff, sales in the wholesale diamond trade, and wholesale inventory management in the watch and finished jewelry trade at Chopard USA. In her new position at AGL, Wendi will focus on color-origin analysis and treatment detection - two of AGL's cornerstone services.

American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), a subsidiary of NASDAQ traded Collectors Universe and one of the premier gemstone labs in the world, announced today that internationally renowned gem expert, Chris Smith has joined the company as Vice President and Chief Gemologist effective immediately. In this capacity, he will be working closely with AGL's President C.R. Cap Beesley, a leading gem sciences authority.

Collectors Universe, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLCT), a leading provider of value-added authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value collectibles and to sellers and purchasers of diamonds and colored gemstones, today reported that its colored gemstone authentication and grading subsidiary, American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), has been named as the certification service to provide identification, grading, enhancement and other services for Eternity Natural Emeralds, a division of Arthur Groom & Co.

Collectors Universe, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLCT), a leading provider of value-added authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value collectibles, diamonds and colored gemstones, today announced on behalf of its divisions, that Gem Certification & Assurance Lab (GCAL), which operates the Company's diamond authentication and grading business, and American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), which operates the Company's colored gemstone authentication and grading business, have agreed with Malca-Amit USA, LLC to use the worldwide delivery system of Malca-Amit to enhance the international submission capabilities of these operating divisions. Malca-Amit (www.malca-amit.com) operates high value security services in 23 countries with 53 offices. Initially, Malca-Amit will be accepting diamond and colored gemstone submissions for authentication and grading in 18 of the Malca-Amit offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The fees in this delivery system are based on a "per use" basis and are generally paid by the submitter.

Collectors Universe, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLCT), a leading provider of value-added authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value collectibles, diamonds and colored gemstones, today announced that its subsidiaries American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), which operates the Company's colored gemstone authentication and grading business, and Gem Certification & Assurance Lab (GCAL), which operates the Company's diamond authentication and grading business, have been appointed as the Official Laboratories for North America of the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA). The ICA (www.gemstone.org) is an international organization of gemstone wholesalers, miners and cutters, with members in 41 countries. ICA announced this appointment in Tucson, Arizona at one of the largest venues for gemstone shows in the world with three concurrent shows.

Collectors Universe, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLCT), a leading provider of value-added authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value collectibles, diamonds and colored gemstones, today announced that Nancy Robey, a well-known luxury marketer, will join the Company as Chief Marketing Officer effective November 1, 2006. Initially, Ms. Robey will be focusing on the jewelry markets through the Company's diamond authentication and grading service Gem Certification & Assurance Lab (GCAL) and the Company's colored gemstone authentication and grading service American Gemological Laboratories (AGL). She will help facilitate the Company's near term growth plans in the domestic and international jewelry markets as well as in other high end luxury markets in the future.

Collectors Universe, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLCT), a leading provider of value-added authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value collectibles and to sellers and purchasers of diamonds and other high value assets, today reported that it has acquired American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), an international forensic colored gemstone certification and grading laboratory. AGL is one of the leading third party authentication and grading services for colored gemstones, including colored gemstones that are sold at auction through Sotheby's and Christies and by jewelry retailers such as Cartier and Fred Leighton. The Company paid an aggregate acquisition price of $3.5 million in cash for AGL, and, depending on the future financial performance of AGL, may become obligated to make contingent payments of up to an aggregate of an additional $3.5 million over the next five years.