I, quite literally, grew up around the jewelry business.

My mother was an antique dealer with a specialty in antique jewelry. My father was an attorney with friends and clients in the jewelry business. My first summer job was the kid in the back room polishing silver and tagging merchandise at Benway Jewelers in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. That was the summer of 1960. Since then I’ve been in every facet of the jewelry business from managing retail mall jewelers to representing museums auctioning their antique jewels.

I moved to San Francisco in the Summer of Love 1967 and, I like to joke, that I forgot to go home. I’ve been buying estate & antique jewelry as well as fine timepieces and silver since then. I have been an adviser to both the Ann Landers and the Dear Abby syndicated columns, as well as  teaching other jewelers the secrets of buying from the public and have recently started teaching a college course. My book “The Urban Gold Miner” shares the secrets of finding, evaulating and selling hidden gold, silver & platinum.

I hold a Certificate in Diamonds & Diamond Grading from the prestigious Gemological Institute of America (GIA). I am a member
in good standing of the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors, The Society of Jewelry Historians, Rapaport Diamond Group, Antique Dealers of America.

On a more personal level, I run my business as I live my life.
I believe in the commandment to use honest weights and fair measures. I believe in karma.

My wife, Deborah and I live in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area in Marin County just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco where we love to hike the Pacific trails, bike, and hill climb. We try to get to Yosemite each spring to camp and climb and we love to adventure travel. I also do sculpture and play a pretty mean guitar. Deborah is an artist, a musician and an athlete as well as financial adviser and investor. We’re a pretty good team.