Here is another snippet……

New Color System.  Christopher Smith introduced a new and intriguing approach to the age old question of colored gemstone description at the Accredited Gemologists Association Conference in Tucson.  With Color Codex™ Chris, principal of American Gemological Laboratories (AGA Bonanno recipient for 2009) offers a textural message of color description, refining several previous methods into a uniform system specifically for gemstones.  Very descriptive and precise, it is yet simplistic in its approach to allow anyone – skilled or not – to analyze a stone to a set of descriptors that convey a color nomenclature.  The result is a numerical value for easy communication with another party using the same system.  As the project develops, expectations are to release the system in three phases over the course of the year.   Our Gem Evaluation class in the fall, will incorporate it in our discussion of color description systems.  This is the class where you apply color description and all other gemstone attributes to arrive at a gem’s value. http://www.nwgem.com.