AGL to re-open under Smith's leadership

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AGL to re-open under Smith's leadership

March 30, 2009

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Christopher P. Smith, former vice president and chief gemologist for American Gemological Laboratories for the past two years, will now own and operate the lab.

New York--American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) will re-open under new leadership, according to a press release issued over the weekend.

According to the release, Christopher P. Smith, former vice president and chief gemologist for AGL for the past two years, will now own and operate the lab.

Smith has reached an agreement in principle to purchase AGL's name and various assets from Collectors Universe Inc.

Newport Beach, Calif.-based Collectors Universe--which deals in the valuations of collectibles such as stamps and autographed sports memorabilia, in addition to once owning both AGL and the Gem Certification and Assurance Laboratory (GCAL)--announced earlier this month it was exiting the gem-grading trade due to uncertainties about the future of the business in light of the global economic crisis.

GCAL's previous owner, The Palmieri Group, purchased that lab to keep it functioning.

The new AGL will retain the majority of the original team including Smith, Elizabeth Quinn Darenius, Maria Frances, Sun Joo Chung and Bilal Mahmood.

Smith said in the release that acquiring the lab seemed like a "natural progression," since he has been involved with its operation and management since December 2006.

Prior to AGL, Smith served as the director of Colored Stone Services at the Gemological Institute of America's New York lab and was a past director of the Gubelin Gem Lab in Luzern, Switzerland.

Based in New York, AGL is a colored-stone grading laboratory founded in 1977.

According to the release, the lab will operate from the same location, 580 Fifth Ave., Suite 706 in New York's Diamond District, and the contact numbers remain the same: (212) 704-0727 (phone) and (212) 764-7614 (fax).

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