International News
IGI acquires AGL to bolster gemstone certification
The International Gemological Institute (IGI) has acquired American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), a move that marks a significant consolidation in the specialized world of luxury gemstone certification.
The deal, backed by IGI’s majority owner, the private-equity giant Blackstone, aims to marry IGI’s massive global infrastructure with AGL’s niche reputation for scientific precision in colored stones like rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. While IGI is a dominant force in diamond grading, the acquisition provides a strategic foothold in the “colored-gem” segment, which has seen surging interest from high-end collectors and retailers seeking greater transparency.
Tehmasp Printer, Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Officer of IGI, says: “This is a transformational step for the industry. By combining AGL’s scientific leadership in coloured gemstones with IGI’s global platform, we are building a future-ready certification ecosystem that delivers scale without compromising integrity or science. Together, we are setting a new global benchmark for trust, transparency and consistency in gemstone certification.”
The acquisition comes at a time when “provenance”—the ability to track a stone’s origin from mine to market—has become a critical factor for jewelry buyers. AGL has long been a leader in provenance reporting, a service IGI plans to scale globally through its existing laboratory network.
Industry veterans see the deal as a sign of professionalization in a fragmented market. Dev Shetty, founder of Jemora Group and a former executive at mining firms Gemfields and Fura Gems, served as a strategic advisor on the transaction.
For Blackstone, the deal represents a continued bet on the luxury supply chain. By broadening IGI’s capabilities, the firm is positioned to capture a larger share of the certification fees paid by manufacturers and retailers who require third-party validation to satisfy increasingly cautious consumers.
The combined groups plan to collaborate on new reporting tools and educational programs, leveraging IGI’s reach to bring AGL’s standards to international markets beyond the United States.
International News
Gold Prices On Track To Reach $4,900/oz By End 2026 :Goldman Sachs
Goldman’s $4,900/oz Forecast Assumes Central Bank Demand Averages 50 Tonnes Per Month In 2026 and 40 Tonnes Per Month In 2027
Gold prices are on track to reach $4,900 per ounce by the end of 2026, driven by aggressive central bank purchases—led by undisclosed buying from China—and recovering exchange-traded fund (ETF) demand, Goldman Sachs said in a research note.
The bank maintained its bullish base-case target for bullion while warning that positioning in options markets could amplify price volatility in both directions. Central banks accumulated an estimated 44 tonnes of gold in July, well above the pre-2022 monthly average of 17 tonnes, according to Goldman Sachs’ nowcast model. On a three-month seasonally adjusted basis, central bank buying stood at 91 tonnes per month.
China was the primary driver, with Goldman estimating the People’s Bank of China bought 35 tonnes in July—roughly 75% more than official public disclosures indicated.
To account for unreported sovereign purchases, Goldman’s model tracks physical bullion flows through London’s over-the-counter (OTC) market into custodian vaults. The Bank of England’s central bank holdings alone rose by 63 tonnes in July, exceeding outflows from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Price Risks and Volatility
Goldman’s $4,900/oz forecast assumes central bank demand averages 50 tonnes per month in 2026 and 40 tonnes per month in 2027, alongside steady Federal Reserve policy and a rebound in private ETF inflows.
However, analysts noted that elevated demand for gold call options—used by investors to hedge against macroeconomic and geopolitical risks—creates mechanical upside and downside risks:
Bullish Case: Continued strong ETF inflows combined with existing call option positioning could force options dealers to buy underlying metal to hedge short exposure, pushing prices “well above” $4,900.
Bearish Case: If the Federal Reserve resumes interest rate hikes, unwinding hedge positions and triggering ETF outflows, gold could drop to $4,440/oz by end-2026. Goldman noted that ongoing central bank buying would limit further downside.
Goldman expects the Federal Reserve to remain on hold through 2026 as inflation cools, removing a key interest rate headwind for the non-yielding asset.
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