Just a Little Introduction.
What makes an ideal lab report?
A trader walks into a gem lab with a piece in hand which he bought in the rough, cut and polished, with the hopes to get a favourable color so that he can sell for a profit. An end consumer walks into a lab with a beautiful ring in hand, with the hopes to confirm that what the seller stated to them was true. In both these situations, the client wants an objective opinion of a third party lab, one seeking the license to sell at the price he wishes, and the latter seeking the assurance that their beautiful ring that they have just purchased is genuine and valuable.
Both these clients expect to see a report that shows them an accurate image of their gemstone, and the specifics of the particular gem. They can expect the report that they are about to obtain will have the weight, dimensions, shape, cut, color and most importantly the identification of thespecies, variety and a comment on treatments if any.
Neither of these clients care about or understand refractive index, pleochroism, saturation, tone, absorption spectrum, hardness, specific gravity and the myriad of other technical terms that we see in the many reports available. Inclusion of such details leads to unnecessary confusion, at the expense of confidence in the trade. The ideal report has just the right amount of information to inform the clients both inside the trade and out, sans confusion.
Gemmology isn't all numbers, charts, and readings. It is an enabler for appreciation of mother nature's rarest and most prized gifts. By increasing trust and confidence in the trade, more people are acquiring gems that they desire to own and wear without the fear of losing their hard earned money.
We strive hard at AGTL to serve our clients what they are seek while maintaining our objective opinion to enable the gems to be appreciated for what they really are.