The diamond industry recently lost a gentle giant. Peter Yantzer carved out a remarkable career in diamond grading that spanned over 50 years. He touched thousands of lives and was revered by his colleagues, not only his accomplishments but for his kindness, enthusiasm, and generosity.
Peter started his career at
GIA in 1973 as one of the first gemologists on staff at GIA’s New York laboratory. In 1996 he would become the first executive director of the newly established
AGS Laboratories (AGSL) in Las Vegas. There he would lead a world-class team of mathematicians and scientists on a multiyear journey to develop the world’s first peer-reviewed scientific light performance cut grading system.
Peter will be remembered by those who knew him best as a great leader, collaborator, mentor, and friend. But his legacy will extend well beyond those who knew and loved him – his monumental contributions to gemology, particularly his work at AGSL, will go forward in a very familiar form and will continue to impact diamond cutting and diamond buying in a major way deep into the future.
In 2022 the GIA acquired the technologies that Peter and his team had developed for diamond cut grading based upon sophisticated computerized light ray tracing. The foundational science and grading framework developed under his leadership makes it possible to assess round diamonds as well as any fancy shape that exists today or may be designed in the future. After the acquisition GIA was quick to implement the AGSL methodology in the form of an AGS Ideal addendum report, issued for qualifying diamonds, and accompanying the standard GIA grading report. Development is currently underway to roll the system out more broadly to enable an overall cut grade for fancy shapes which GIA has heretofore been unable to accomplish because of the limitations of parameter-based grading as applied to the more complex structures of fancy shape diamonds.
We will see in years to come GIA reports complete with cut grades on fancy shapes thanks to the brilliant work Peter and his team did together at AGSL. When that happens, cut quality of fancy shapes across the globe will take a quantum leap forward, making diamonds more beautiful than ever before. Peter’s legacy will live on indefinitely in the brilliance of millions of faceted diamonds which grace the fingers, necks and ears of all those who appreciate the miracle of these tiny sculptures of light.
Peter was one of those rare gifts who will be remembered for a life well lived, and for the beauty that he brought to the world. He will live on through the light that beams for generations, and in the love that is shared around these remarkable gems that he came to understand so intimately. The secrets of the light that Peter helped to reveal makes life richer and more radiant for all of us.