The San Diego ASA Chapter Board Approves Nominations Committee’s Recommended 2006 – 2007 Slate of Officers

• President: Kim Ufford, AM
• 1st VP: Pamela Bensoussan, ASA (membership)
• 2nd VP: David Bowie, ASA
• Secretary: Rick Engstrom, ASA
• Treasurer: Georgie Stillman, ASA

NOMINATIONS FOR OFFICERS will be taken from the floor at the March 21st Chapter meeting. If you know someone who is willing to serve as a Chapter officer, or if you wish to serve, please attend the March 21st meeting and make your nomination. The slate of officers will be finalized after the meeting, and ballots will be emailed to you in April for your vote. PARTICIPATE IN YOUR CHAPTER and help to make it relevant to your career.

February Meeting

If you didn’t attend our February meeting, you really missed out on a great event. Thom Underwood and his wife Lynn graciously hosted us at their home and prepared an outstanding gourmet meal complete with wine and specialty coffees made from their home-roasted beans.

The speaker, Alan Hodgkinson, is clearly an icon in the gems and jewelry world. He brought a number of hands-on gem identification tests for us to experiment with throughout the evening and his presentation was replete with entertaining anecdotes and useful tips.

It was a fun and information-filled evening. Thank you to Thom and Lynn for their hospitality and to Mr. Hodgkinson for taking the time out from his busy trip to speak to our group.

New Region 5 Governor

As you know, ASA International is in the process of reorganizing. Our chapter is part of the new Region 5 which includes chapters in Arizona, Nevada, and California, plus Vancouver, Hawaii and Hong Kong — anyone for a regional meeting in Hong Kong or Hawaii? The process to elect a new governor for our region is beginning. The nominating committee consists of all chapter presidents in the new region. If you have any suggestions or comments regarding individuals who should be nominated, or if you are interested yourself in running for governor, please contact me immediately. After candidates are identified and nominated, ballots will be sent out by April 14, and the polls will close May 31. I will keep you posted on what transpires in the nominating process.

Kim Ufford, AM

Summary of ASA Meeting:   February 11, 2006 - Excerpted from meeting notes provided by Dana Gray

ALAN HODGKINSON, FGA, DGA

Mr. Hodgkinson began with a slide of a Roman Necklace (circa 430 AD) found in Britain: a treasure of 22 kt woven gold with four emeralds.  On closer inspection we discover only one is a true emerald, three are glass. Two thousand years ago, Hodgkin’s says, there were fakes. Even Tutankhamen had fake turquoise and topaz in his tomb.

Hodgkinson shared more historical anecdotes such as:

• Julius Caesar liked his favorite Fife fresh water pearls from Scotland.  However, he ground them up to form a magnesium medicine to settle his stomach after boisterous debauchery hangovers.
• Romans tested for diamond on an anvil.  Held it down, Poured fresh goats blood on it, hit the Diamond with hammer.  This technique is not used these days!
• There are no facets in stones from the Middle Ages. They simply ground the stone, polished it flat then engraved it.
• Henry I had the first one-facet diamond called a table facet.

Hodgkinson recounted that in 1972 when his job as a jewelry training officer was eliminated he was living in Glasgow. To make ends meet he drove a taxi and sold gems. While waiting in line for fares he would view his stones by the light of a lamppost or even the moon. Gems refract light differently relative to their identity (i.e. ruby versus garnet) and that is when Hodgkinson made the observation he calls Visual Optics.  Without any advanced equipment one can identify gem materials simply by holding the gem to the eye and observing the diffracted light pattern.

As an example, he observed that when looking at synthetic moissanite you see “blurred snowflakes” while a real diamond shows crisp specks of trapped rainbow light.  With cubic zirconium (cz) the rainbow light comes through noticeably longer than the true diamond.

Hodgkinson brought his ideas to the Gemmological Association in London but was told that his test was too difficult. Determined to make his point to the contrary, Hodgkinson trained and tested an 8 year old to identify moissanite, cz, or genuine diamond.  Not only did the boy get it right the first time, he then taught his parents to identify the gems one from another as well.

In yet another of Hodgkinson’s projects he teamed up with his friend Bill Hanneman, a writer about gems, to produce and market a filter that distinguishes and identifies natural emeralds from synthetic lab-grown emeralds. It is now used by gemologists worldwide and known as the H/H Synthetic Emerald Filter.

We also learned that Hodgkinson’s long awaited book on gem identification is scheduled to be released this summer.

Acquiring 'Real Knowledge'

At least once a month I am contacted by someone interested in starting a career in appraising art or antiques. I always recommend the ASA sponsored core courses, explaining that they pertain to the special techniques, skills and ethics of the profession. They teach the appraisal process from defining scope of work and methodology, to the process of developing value conclusions and formatting the report. However, this set of skills is quite different from those involved in “knowing” about specific objects, be they art, colored gems, china, oriental rugs, or furniture.

The ASA also offers courses in connoisseurship, which might be described as the understanding and analysis of unique characteristics that make one item more important or desirable than another. Real knowledge, however, involves first-hand experience. No classroom can take the place of hands-on knowledge. This is true for all disciplines. Accountants work their way up from the basics to the higher levels, and then may move into Business Valuation. Real Estate appraisers often begin in the field with sales experience, and then move towards accreditation as an appraiser. Many personal property appraisers begin by working in antiques and art galleries, acquiring expertise in objects that interest them, and then take courses to become an appraiser.

Most appraisal practices do not offer apprenticeships. Only the rare appraiser can afford to take in a complete novice and provide him an education free of charge. Should clients pay me to spend time educating an apprentice while I am inspecting their collections? Will that apprentice be able to go out and work independently, under a fee schedule that reimburses me for providing their education?

This is an issue the ASA, as it offers courses in appraisal technique, must still address. How do the graduates of these courses go forth and find employment as appraisers?

Let me know your thoughts, and I look forward to seeing you at the March meeting,

All the best,

Georgie Stillman, ASA

If you are involved in a community activity, special event, interesting assignment, or know of courses being offered, please let us know. Contact one of your board members!

Summary of ASA Meeting:   January 17, 2006

Mid Century Modernism - The New Hot Collecting Area
Presented by David Skelley, owner of Boomerang For Modernism

David Skelley, owner of Boomerang For Modern in Little Italy, ‘styled’ into the ASA January meeting with some fun and interesting examples of mid-century modern furniture.  David’s personal interest is in post-WW2 furniture & accessories, but he is well versed in all the Modernism icons.  Modernism is a style that reflects the 20th century desire to streamline the fussy old Victorian aesthetic, and made use of the outpouring of 20th century technological advances in materials and manufacturing.  Plastic, Formica and bent plywood was BIG, with bright colors and biomorphic design!

David brought along a 1941 molded plywood leg splint developed by Charles Eames for easy use for casualties in WW2, illustrating how new materials and technology resulted in a light-weight, stackable mass produced product.  This new technology led to stackable furniture, such as the Eames chair.

There is a lot of demand for arts & crafts made by California artists in wood, ceramic, glass and jewelry, and, especially in San Diego, pieces crafted locally by members of the Allied Craftsmen, who often had studios in Old Town & in Spanish Village at Balboa Park.

As is typical, San Diego prices for important examples of Modernism lag well behind the rest of the country.  We lack the well-heeled middle class, due to our high cost-of-living. It is very common for Chicago & east coast dealers to come out to purchase furniture, take it home and sell it for a great deal more than we can get for it here in San Diego.

If you have personal questions regarding modern furniture you can contact David Skelley at www.boomerangformodern.com or call (619) 239-2040.

Some Sources for Modernism

LA Modern Auction & Gallery
Treadway/Toomey Auctions
Wright Auctions
David Rago Auctions
San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association

2006 ASA International Appraisal Conference
July 30–August 2, Brooklyn

Preliminary schedule at the Conference website

What's Planned at UC Irvine?

April 27-30, 2006 - PP/GJ202 - Personal Property Valuation Methodology-Research and Analysis
June 1-4, 2006 - PP308 Appraising Antiques and Decorative Arts
September 14-17, 2006 - PP/GJ203 - Personal Property Valuation--Report Writing
October 12-13, 2006 - PP445 Report Writing Review
October 14-15, 2006 - PP443 Charitable Contributions: Do's and Don'ts
November 2-5, 2006 - PP/GJ204 - Personal Property Valuation--The Legal and Commercial Environment

Special Interest and Connoisseurship Courses 2006

March 18-19, 2006 - PP424 California Art & Design
May 1-2, 2006 - PP420 Silver: Is It Real?
August 12-13, 2006 - PP428 History and Craft of Handmade Oriental/Persian Rugs
September 18-19, 2006 - PP444 Appraiser's Tool Kit: Fakes, Frauds and Reproductions

Members Need Education Units to Reaccredit Their ASA Designation Every 5 Years

Read about the ASA reaccreditation requirements at the ASA website. (To view this information, you must log into the Members Only section, then, in the left column, click on the Reaccreditation link.)

For a list of courses in our area, please visit our Education page.

ASA Website Stats

We can see the “hits” but we want to know if you are directly getting calls or emails after someone visits the site. Please Contact Jan (619-501-5444) and tell us if you have received a contact from someone who found you through our Chapter website.

If you have any comments or questions regarding this program, please contact one of our board members!

This newsletter is published (September through June) as a service to the ASA Members and the community it serves. If you would like to receive this publication, please contact Jan Giamanco- 619-781-8588.

Newsletter Editor - Georgie Stillman, ASA

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