On-Campus GIA Lab Classes

To participate, click the Enroll button below to complete the application form. Please note that applying to attend does not guarantee enrollment and you are not officially enrolled until you receive confirmation from AGS by email. Please complete the application by August 23, 2024. You will be notified of the status of your application no later than August 30, 2024.

Five-Day Diamond Grading Lab 

Monday, October 7, 2024 – Friday, October 11, 2024

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day

Through a unique combination of hands-on training, one-on-one coaching and multimedia, the Diamond Grading class explores how to grade diamonds consistently and accurately using a modern gem microscope and a loupe. Students study GIA’s International Diamond Grading System™, explore time-saving shortcuts to determine a variety of grading factors, and are introduced to methods for reading a GIA Diamond Grading Report. You will spend more than 16 hours practicing grading techniques on diamonds that were carefully selected and graded by GIA. In the process, you will study how to recognize the most common diamond features.

Five-Day Gem Identification Lab

Monday, October 14, 2024 – Friday, October 18, 2024

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day

Practice the same time-tested procedures and identification skills used by the Institute’s renowned gemological experts. Tools used include a microscope, a refractometer with polarizing filter and a removable magnifying eyepiece, refractive index (RI) liquid, a polariscope with an optic figure sphere, a dichroscope, a table model prism spectroscope, a handheld spectroscope and a loupe. Students use these instruments to practice identifying natural and laboratory-grown gemstones, imitations and assembled stones. Along with this hands-on training, your instructors will carefully demonstrate key tests and coach you in quick, effective testing procedures.