Subscribe Now Subscription Details Auction Review ProcessHome
Subscriber Login

Search

Hallmarks

My Account

Auction: Houses - Dates

Resources

About Us - Contact Us

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

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 and the Association for the Study of Jewelry and Related Arts. She is a 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. Currently, she is the Executive Director of The National Association of Jewelry Appraisers, the largest gem and jewelry appraisal organization in the United States.
Ms. Levine is also President of Timeless, Inc. (1982 to present) specializing in insurance, estate, and donation appraisals of antique, estate and contemporary jewelry, precious metals and loose diamonds and colored stones and gem consulting.

In 1994, she started the subscription based publication Auction Market Resource for Gems and Jewelry which is an indepth report by qualified appraiser/gemologists of sales results of jewelry at auction which previews gem material. In 2005 Auction Market Resource ceased publications to become totally on the internet. It is currently recommended by most appraisal organizations.


Senior Consultant

Howard Rubin, GG

Howard Rubin, GG, gently passed away January 17, 2012. He was instrumental and a key visionary of Auction Market Resource. The groundwork in the early years of AMR, in print as well as onsite, was a collaboration of Howard Rubin and Gail Brett Levine. He was the most Senior of Previewers having work for AMR for eighteen years.

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. 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. GemDialogue, as a color communication tool, is used exclusively in AMR and is still available being directed and managed by Gail Brett Levine.


Previewers' Profiles

Howard Rubin, GG

Heidi Harders, GG, is president of Chicago Gem and Jewelry Evaluation Services, located at 29 Madison 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, July 2007 and again in November 2012.  She is also a  Senior Member of NAJA.

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 as Chair of the Gems and Jewelry Committee of ISA. For the past eighteen years she has worked as a special project research assistant for The Gem 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 Harder's 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

Melanie A. Marts, GG, previewer at Weschler's Auction for 18 years, received her Graduate Gemologist Diploma from G.I.A. in October of 1991. She started out in the jewelry business in 1989, spending the first five years in various retail, private auction and pawnshop venues. A year after moving to the Northern Virginia area in 1993, she has been sole proprietor of Jewelry Appraisal Services as a full-time independent appraiser, serving a variety of jewelry stores over a twenty year period. She is active in the Washington, DC Alumni Chapter, serving as Secretary and Vice-President in 2001 - 2003, and still serves on the Board in various capacities. Melanie is a member of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers.

In conjunction with authors William (Bobby) Mann and Charles M. Marts, she was responsible for all the photography for their books, "Ivory Identification" and "Ivory Identification A Photographic Companion." A third book is in progress. Melanie also finds time to enjoy photography of all types, gardening, reading, and sewing.


James Poag

James Poag, GG, ISA CAPP, AAA  is a Certified 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 was 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.


Jennifer Dortmans

Jennifer Dortmans, GG,  joined the team at James O. Poag Jewellers in 2003 and has since become the store manager.  She studied gemology through the distance education program offered by the Gemological Institute of America. She traveled to New York, Montreal and Fort Lauderdale to complete her studies and was given the designation of Graduate Gemologist in September 2006.

Jenny has also received her Pearls diploma and has recently completed her Core Course in appraisal studies and become a member of the International Society of Appraisers.

Subscribe Now Subscription DetailsAuction Review Process Search Home
Auction Houses Auction Dates Links About Us Contact Information
Privacy Policy Terms of Use