“Romanov or Rip Off” was the intriguing title of an October 20 Society Program presented by Gary Smith, of Smith’s Jewelers in Montoursville. The guests learned much about the methods used to spot a fake.
Gary Smith trained in Asia and Europe as a master goldsmith in the repair and restoration of antique jewelry and artifacts. In addition to goldsmithing, he has an accredited gemological laboratory since 1998 and the only forensic laboratory dedicated to the jewelry industry. “In addition to litigation support, consulting and expert witness testimony,” Mr. Smith notes, “I am an accredited senior appraiser with the designation of Master Gemologist Senior Appraiser from the American Society of Appraisers with over 40 years of experience as a teacher, lecturer and appraiser of gems and jewelry for private clientele, banks, insurance companies, legal firms, and the State of Pennsylvania Treasury Department. As a Forensic Gemologist, I have worked with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.” The lecture discussed a current project, involving the Romanov family jewels. Czar Nicholas II was the last Romanov to serve as the head of Russian imperial government before he and his family were executed during the Russian Revolution of 1917.
The lecture was generously sponsored by the Woodcock Foundation for the Appreciation of the Arts.