On the grading scale, BofA did slightly better, with Kramer noting the bank is in a "difficult situation" with troubled assets in collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and some real estate from Merrill Lynch.

FORBES: Intelligent Investing Panel

Gemfields's efforts come amid other attempts by investors to bring more modern practices to the industry, including making pricing data more widely available and improving grading and tracking practices so that consumers can get a better idea of what their stones are worth and where they came from.

WSJ: Secret Rocks and Gem Hunters | WSJ.Money Summer 2013