The American Gem Society is the country’s preeminent jewelry trade organization dedicated to consumer protection. Which basically means, if you’re looking to buy jewelry, you're in the right place.
The American Gem Society (AGS) was founded in 1934 by a small group of leading jewelers. Their goal was to create an organization that could help protect the jewelry-buying public from fraud and false advertising. Today, we’re proud to say their vision has become a reality.
Only one in twenty jewelers have met the exacting requirements necessary for membership. To join the AGS, every member must go through a peer-reviewed application process and complete an annual recertification exam. This process ensures that every AGS member you meet is at the top of their game, and more importantly, each one has pledged to protect their customers by providing expert gemological knowledge of the products they sell, and adhering to strict standards of ethics.
Mission Statement
The American Gem Society (AGS) is a nonprofit trade association of fine jewelry professionals dedicated to setting, maintaining and promoting the highest standards of ethical conduct and professional behavior through education, accreditation, recertification of its membership, gemological standards, and gemological research.
The Society is committed to providing educational products to inform and protect the consumer and to contributing to the betterment of the trade by creating industry standards to protect the jewelry-buying public and the fine jewelry industry as a whole.
AGS Laboratories, founded to support the AGS mission, is a nonprofit diamond grading laboratory with a mission of consumer protection. Adhering to the AGS Diamond Grading Standards, AGS Laboratories is dedicated to offering diamond grading reports that provide consistency and accuracy based on science.
The American Gem Society’s Pledge to the Consumer
The American Gem Society (AGS) was created with one mission in mind: to protect you, the consumer.
Our members adhere to the highest standards of business practices and ethics so that you can buy with confidence from jewelers you can trust. AGS Standards not only comply with governing laws, but go beyond that to ensure that you are buying from jewelers who have the knowledge and skill to help you make the most informed buying decision.
AGS Ethical Practices
In order to maintain membership, jewelers in the American Gem Society agree to:
- Provide full disclosure of all facts pertaining to the products they sell.
- Never intentionally deceive their employees, consumers, vendors, or business partners.
- Compete fairly and never speak unprofessionally about their competitors. Likewise, encourage their colleagues in the jewelry industry to embrace these principals.
- Resolve any customer complaints relating to the sale of a product.
- Not sell conflict diamonds. AGS jewelers must make every effort to fully comply with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and the World Diamond Council System of Warranties.
- Continue their gemological and jewelry education, always improving their knowledge and keeping up with trends in jewelry and ethical business practices.
- Adhere to the Anti-money Laundering (AML) program, which is designed to comply with the USA Patriot Act.
Under the guidelines for “Social and Human Rights Practices,” AGS jewelers are required to respect the fundamental human rights of all their employees, business partners, and, of course, their customers. They must adhere to all applicable laws related to work hours and compensation and they must conduct business in an environmentally responsible manner.
