GIA and others have tried to develop a standard for colored stone grading similar to the Diamond standard and they’ve all failed to impact the industry.  It is an unbelievably complex task and probably unrealistic for us to expect any universal standard to be accepted.  Every company has their own grading method and most are completely ineffective.  Disclosure of treatments and enhancements is important, but maybe we should put more effort into requiring companies to disclose their quality of cut, clarity and color.
   The most common attempt at categorizing quality is by using a vague term like “A quality” or “top quality” to describe gems without any explanation of what those terms mean.  Most companies don’t disclose or document what their grades mean.  Does “A grade” mean every stone is eye clean?  Who knows?  Does “AAA grade” mean the cutting is precision?  Who knows?  The company using these grading terms doesn’t even know most of the time! 
    Next time you order from a supplier, ask them what their grading terms mean.  Ask them what the clarity is for that grade and is it consistent year after year, parcel after parcel and order after order.  Ask them what the cutting quality is for that grade and whether you’ll get the same cutting quality on your next order.  Ask them if you could get a copy of their grading criteria for cut, clarity and color.  You won’t find many that can provide this information.  The problem is it is not easy to provide a consistent product in the gem world so most suppliers just “punt”.  And buyers that tolerate vagueness and inconsistency perpetuate the problem.
    I propose every company should be required to provide written documentation of their grading criteria and that grading should be disclosed for every gem they sell.  The grading criteria should accurately describe all three major categories – cut, clarity and color.  If a product is shipped that does not meet the criteria described, thesupplier should refund the purchase price and shipping charges.  If you’re thinking this is crazy, keep in mind that there’s at least one company out there that adheres to this policy.  I’m sure there’s more, but I haven’t run across them yet.
   Suppliers should have to provide a buyer with a separate grading level for each of the three categories – cut, clarity and color.  A common situation is to allow the “AAA grade” category to include lower grade colors if the clarity and cut are nice or to include poorly cut gems if the color is premium.  This vagueness is unfair to the buyer and should not be tolerated.  Buyers are forced to order more than they need and hope they find a few gems that meet their criteria.  This is a waste of time and money.
  
CUT
   Cutting quality may the most ignored category of colored stone grading.  Although it may not be as important as color and clarity, it is absolutely the most controllable factor of the three.  Therefore, every company should be able to provide an accurate and consistent description of the cutting quality.
   Cutting quality should be described in terms that can be tested and verified. If a supplier claims a gem is “fine cut” they should be able to describe the attributes that are necessary to make this grade.  A top grade gem should have “meet point” facet edges under 10X loupe, every facet should be equal in size to other similar facets in the pattern, the girdle should be uniform, the depth should be proportional for best brilliance and everything about the cut should be symmetrical and centered.  Lower cutting grades should be identified by specific features that are lacking or of lower precision.  Suppliers should document and provide grading for at least 3 levels of cutting quality.

CLARITY
   This is somewhat subjective but there are some standards that are common enough to be useful in describing clarity.  One of the common terms used is “eye clean”.  This should mean that no inclusions can be seen from any angle by someone with 20/20 vision.  Loupe clean would assume 10X power and be equally free of inclusions viewed from any angle.  A supplier should have at least 4 levels of clarity grading, but more are quite helpful especially in gems that are predominantly included such as Emerald.

COLOR
  This is the most complex and likely the biggest reason why no industry standard has been developed.  There are an infinite amount of colors, shades, tints and hues.  Pleochroic, color change, color play and multi-color gems complicate matters even further.  The bottom line here is that whatever standard is set by a supplier, a method of maintaining consistency be in place.  A clear and consistent upper and lower limit should be set for each grade.
  The number of grading levels for color will depend on the gem type.  Some gems may only require 2 or 3 levels (i.e.  Aquamarine) while other gem types might require significantly more.  It would obviously help to break gem types into subcategories before breaking down color when dealing with a wide color ranging gem type like Sapphire.

COMMUNICATION
   Since every supplier and jeweler has different impressions of color, clarity and cut, it is important to be able to interpret and describe gems according to terms used in books or in life.  After a relationship is developed the communication will become easier, but initially try to work with a supplier that you feel understands what you are asking for.  Also, it is important that the person you are talking to is going to participate in the actual gem selection.  A huge supplier that has sales reps that sit at a computer all day will not be able to select colors or matches.  It’s the little things that bring customers back.  A customer may not comment on the mismatched earrings, but they may not come back.  If you care about the details, make sure your supplier cares about them also.