Guidelines for the Spectra and Spectra Update

Spectra, a quarterly publication, is a core benefit of American Gem Society (AGS) membership. Spectra Update is a monthly e-newsletter and serves as an extension of Spectra. Both publications provide our readers with timely and informative articles on best practices, issues and developments specific to the jewelry industry and the Society. Much of the material is written by the AGS team and members of the AGS.

Review policy

The acceptance of articles submitted to Spectra and Spectra Update are based on several different pieces of criteria, including: 1) Relevancy, 2) Timeliness, 3) Informational/Educational value. We reserve the right to edit articles as needed to fit within our guidelines and space constraints.

Article Types

Our readers are AGS members, and are, therefore, skilled jewelry professionals. We are looking for strong, well-researched, articles about topics relevant to our membership. Writers should look for ways to cast new light on well-established issues, and to help inform our membership of new techniques, trends, and developments relevant to our industry. We look for stories that will inform and educate or motivate. AGS members benefit by learning from each other. Teach them your success stories and share your knowledge base in practical ways that they can apply in their own business.

Please do not submit promotional articles. You may contact the membership department at [email protected] to learn more about advertising and promotional opportunities.

Key topics of interest for Spectra and Spectra Update include:

• Appraising
• Enhancement Updates/Treatment Detection
• Gemology/Gem ID
• Sales and/or Marketing “Secrets to Success,” such as successfully executed promotional or sales campaigns
• How AGS has helped your business
• Leadership/Management

Submission Guidelines:

Before writing your article, we advise you to send an email query first to [email protected]. Briefly summarize the topic you’d like to discuss and your expertise in this area.

Guidelines for Spectra and Spectra Update page lengths—based on single-spaced Word Documents.

• Full page without photos should be 1& 1/2 pages in a Word document
• For Spectra, a full page with photos should be about 1 page in a Word document. Please note – this is dependent on the number of photos and the size / orientation of the photos, so a best judgment will need to be used in this case.
  • Half page without photos or graphics should be about 2/3 of a page in a Word document
    • All photos and graphics are the responsibility of the contributer.
  • Half page with photos should be about 1/3 of a page in a Word document. Please note – this is dependent on the number of photos and the size / orientation of the photos, so a best judgment will need to be used in this case.
  • Photos should be in a jpeg format and 300 dpi resolution.
• For Spectra Update, photos are welcome and high resolution quality is preferred, but not required. Please keep word length to no more than 750 words.

By submitting this article to Spectra, the author is granting the American Gem Society permission to use the material, understanding that we may repurpose it for our website or Spectra Update, or other AGS publications, and reserve editorial rights.

All articles should be submitted by email in a Word or RTF format only. Please send queries, questions, and articles to [email protected].

Guidelines for the American Gem Society’s “All About Birthstones” Series

Every month, the American Gem Society (AGS) features videos from members who are subject matter experts on that month’s birthstones.

To submit a video, please click the button below to fill out the Content Submission Form.

Guidelines for the American Gem Society’s Sparkle Sessions Series

The American Gem Society (AGS) wants you to star in the “Sparkle Sessions”—our new InstaSeries!

Our goal with the American Gem Society’s “Sparkle Sessions” is to help consumers meet the jewelers behind the counter, and learn the benefits of shopping with our knowledgeable, expert members. These videos can help consumers connect with you, while getting to know you better, and learn a thing or two about jewelry!

To submit a video, please click the button below to fill out the Content Submission Form.