About Auction Market Resource
In 1994 Auction Market Resource for Gems and Jewelry started as a subscription-based publication offering an in-depth report, by qualified appraiser/gemologists, of sales results of previewed jewelry and gem material at auction and published semi-annually. It is currently recommended by most appraisal organizations and also used by many jewelers who deal in estate merchandise.
Publisher
Gail Brett Levine, GG, independent personal property appraiser, has been in the jewelry trade for over 30 years. Initially starting as the owner of an antique shop in Alexandria, VA, Presidential Antiques Co., Inc., she specialized in antique, period and estate jewelry. She received her GG in residence from GIA (NY) in 1980 and currently serves on the Executive Council of the GIA Alumni Association, former board member of the American Society of Jewelry Historians, Past President of the Board of Directors of the International Society of Appraisers, 1996 - 1998, and served on its Board for five years.
Ms. Levine is also President of Timeless, Inc. (1982 to present) specializing in insurance, estate, claims and donation appraisals of antique, estate and contemporary jewelry, precious metals and loose diamonds and colored stones and gem consulting. Currently, she is the Executive Director of The National Association of Jewelry Appraisers, the largest gem and jewelry appraisal organization in the United States.
Senior Consultant
Howard Rubin, GG is president of GemDialogue Systems, Inc. and the inventor and patent owner of the GemDialogue color descriptive system for color stones and fancy color diamonds. The company also conducts seminars, and does consulting work for the gem trade relating to employee training, quality control, troubleshooting, and price research.
Mr. Rubin began in the industry, 60 years ago, as a diamond and color stone setter, studied gemology at the GIA and took courses at Columbia university. He operated a number of companies which included a setting shop, the manufacturing of diamond and color stone rings, and gem dealing. He traveled to many of the worlds gem centers and bought and sold both rough and cut gem materials for a Hong Kong company. He later became a vice president for Leer Gem Co. in NY. Leer was the color stone division of the M. Fabrikant Diamond Company.
In 1983 GemDialogue was published and was endorsed by the American Gem Trade Association. It has gained a following in the industry and is presently being recommended by many appraisal experts. He also is the author of The Jewelers Guide to Gemstone Handling which has been published in nearly every major trade publication, and also the author of numerous other published articles.Together with Gail Brett Levine, GG, they researched and published The GemDialogue Color ToolBox which received the 1998 International Society of Appraisers' Lamp of Knowledge Award. This work allows cross referencing of the color systems in use today in the gemstone industry.
Previewers' Profiles
Heidi Harders, GG, is president of Chicago Gem and Jewelry Evaluation Services, located at 55 East Washington in Chicago. Her duties include appraising gems and jewelry for functions including insurance, estate, divorce, contributions, liquidations, and consultation to the trade and individuals seeking knowledge and clarification in the many areas of the gemstone industry. Previously, Heidi worked for the Chicago Lapidary Company, a family business, nearly twenty years. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arizona in 1982 and a Graduate Gemologist degree from the Gemological Institute of America in 1989. In 1993, Heidi became an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers specializing in gems and jewelry appraising and in March of 1997, she became a fully certified member of ISA. She tested and requalified in September 2002 and again in July 2007.
Heidi served as President of the Illinois/Wisconsin Chapter of the Gemological Institute of America Alumni Association, as the President of the Chicago chapter of the International Society of Appraisers, and is current the Gems and Jewelry Chair of ISA. For the past five years she has worked as a special research assistant for The Guide, Richard Drucker's gemstone pricing publication. Previously she was a price advisor for the same publication. Heidi is also an auction previewer for Gail Levine's Auction Market Resource, the appraiser's fair market value tool. Heidi is a committed professional who keeps up with the ever-changing gem and jewelry trade by attending shows, auctions, and educational conferences and seminars and teaching others in the trade when sought after to do so.
Heidi Harders love of gemstones, many years of experience in the family business, and extensive, continuing studies make her an outstanding ethical and honest professional in the gem and jewelry trade.
Debra Sawatzky is as multifaceted as the items she appraises. After changing her professional path in life, Debra has found her passion for jewellery through the study of gemology at GIA earning a GG. Through continuous study and working in the jewellery industry for the past twenty years Debra has become Canada’s leader in the field of antique and estate jewellery.
Debra has earned numerous scholarly distinctions , including the designation of Certified Appraiser of Personal Property (CAPP), the highest obtainable credentials from the International Society of Appraisers (ISA). In 2007, Debra was appointed Committee Chair of Gems and Jewelry for ISA. She is also a member of the National Jewellery Appraisal Association.
The consumer based company of Debra J. Sawatzky focuses on valuation services. Through her successful consultancy business. Debra has established and represents high standards in both ethics and practices of the jewellery appraisal industry.
Melanie A. Marts, GG, moved to the Washington, DC, metropolitan area from Los Angeles in 1993. She received her Graduate Gemologist diploma in 1991.
During her eighteen year career in the jewelry business, she has worked in various aspects, including retail sales, pawn shop, itinerant auction company, etc.
For the past thirteen years she has been sole proprietor of Jewelry Appraisal Services as an independent full time appraiser. In addition to serving as an Auction Market Resource previewer of Weschler’s Auction House (since December 1996), she appraises for numerous retail jewelry stores, etc., in the metropolitan area.
She was Secretary and then Vice President of the Washington DC Chapter of the GIA Alumni Association from 2000 through 2003.
Her hobbies include gardening, kickboxing, and photography of landscapes and flowers.
James Poag, GG, ISA CAPP, AA is a member of NAJA and is a Certified Member of the International Society of Appraisers specializing in Gems and Jewelry. He holds a double certification, one in Gemstones and Jewelry, the other in Antique and Period Jewelry. Jim is the past Chair of the ISA Education Committee. Jim was the Co-Chair for the ISA Distance Education Writing team, and is an ISA instructor. For his involvement in ISA Jim has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award in 1997-1997 and in 1998-1999 and the Outstanding Member Award in 2000.
Jim graduated from the Gemological Institute of America in Santa Monica, CA in 1987, at which time he joined the family business, James O. Poag Jewellers, Ltd. in Strathroy, ON, Canada, started by his father in 1957. From 1987 until 1991, Jim studied the GIA Jewellery Manufacturing programs as well as the Pearl Grading and Colored Stone Grading programs. He completed the ISA Core Courses in 1993, and followed that with the ISA Expert Witness Course, and the Antique and Period Jewelry specialty course.
Jim was awarded the highly coveted Accredited Appraiser Seal (AA) upon successfully completing the required examination; this is the highest level of achievement offered through the Canadian Jewellers Institute.
In 1995, in addition to all his other professional and academic activities, Jim joined Auction Market Resource as an auction previewer for Canadian auctions.