Meet Jewelry Judge Ben Gordon, Master Graduate Gemologist and Appraiser of Diamonds and Colored Gemstones in Uptown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Gordon.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started in 1953 as a runner for a jewelry manufacturer in the Diamond District on 47th street in Manhattan. I worked days delivering gold and diamonds to various vendors, stone cutters and setters, polishers and dealers and at night attended NYU to obtain my MBA. Thirteen years later I had worked my way up from deliveries to production manager of the company.

Gordon Jewelry recruited me to set up the manufacturing for their nationwide chain of three hundred-plus stores and relocated me to Houston, Texas. I certainly had the right name, but am not related to the Gordon family – no nepotism there, just relevant expertise and experience. By 1977 having been promoted to Vice President of Merchandising for their fine jewelry division I had established the necessary industry contacts and responding to demand from the community, became an independent jewelry appraiser full time.

Growing up in a rough, ethnically mixed neighborhood of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, I was a street-wise kid raised by a single mom who immigrated from Poland. I had few choices back then – attend Brooklyn Automotive and become a mechanic, or work in the diamond district as a runner. Since I didn’t like to get my hands dirty, it was the diamond district for me.

My skill at stick-ball led to a lifelong interest in baseball and sports – ask me anything about the Brooklyn Dodgers! I avidly read world history and politics and take inspiration especially from biographies of historically significant people such as Horatio Alger, who overcame adversity.

I met my wife of fifty-six years, on the beach at Coney Island. Linda was one in a million among the beach crowd. Even today, we both enjoy ballroom dancing and dance at least weekly! In my sixty-five-year career, I’ve achieved the American Dream for sure! Oh, did I mention that my thesis was on the ageing worker? Who knew I would eventually become one!

Has it been a smooth road?
In the early 1950s, when ‘diamonds became a girl’s best friend’ thanks to Marilyn Monroe, the jewelry industry was not ‘consumer friendly’ – meaning that there was no encouragement for sharing information, even among professionals and certainly not with the public. Jewelry retailers and manufacturers saw each other as competitors and appraisers, in particular, were effectively shut out of the professional organizations, conferences and jewelry trade shows where ongoing education took place.

Watch manufacturers (at a time when Rolex was becoming popular) were particularly averse to sharing information and diamond pricing was also kept ‘close to the vest.’ Information that would educate and protect the public was not generally available.

As a result, The American Society of Appraisers and The International Society of Appraisers came into being but their focus was on real estate. It wasn’t until later that their jewelry divisions were formed and the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers was organized to share accurate and dependable information among professional appraisers, but not among the retailers, manufacturers and dealers who still considered appraisers to be adversaries. Now with sixty-five years of experience behind us, there are still pockets of resistance to sharing information, but the jewelry industry has made strides toward cooperation between its various specialties.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a Master Graduate Gemologist / Appraiser who authenticates and values diamonds, colored gemstones and fine jewelry. Appraisals and consultations are often for insurance and estate purposes, but also in cases of property division or legal cases involving theft or fraud.

What has always set us apart:
• The fact that our appraisal work is done in front of the client who is encouraged to ask questions and participate in the process makes us unique.

• In addition to valuing the materials and workmanship, we are pleased that our appraisals come with genealogy background, including history and style of the period during which the item was made. Often details of family history are revealed by examining the clues that the jewelry presents to the trained eye.

I am most proud of:
• The trust that my clients place in me through multiple generations is a source of pride. I now work with the grandchildren of my very first clients. People may come to me with a single item or with suitcases of inventory – no two days are alike!

• Embracing technology is also something we are proud of – Social Media has been our primary method for business growth and the fact that we have over two hundred five-star testimonials across the Internet has brought in numerous clients.

• I am also quite proud to be a consumer advocate working to prevent fraud in the industry, by delivering public awareness presentations. Our business is often featured on the nightly news reports when reporters doing exposes bring items for our analysis and review. (Click to See Channel 2 Investigates)

• Lastly, we have received Awards for Excellence in the workplace from the Greater Houston Better Business Bureau for five consecutive years, including 2017.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes, Yes, and Yes! Houston has been very good for our business. When we first relocated here, it was ‘oil city’, but since the 1970s the economy has diversified. Regardless of the economy’s ups and downs, people are always falling in love, getting engaged, buying (and selling) fine jewelry. It was the expressed need from the community that encouraged us to focus exclusively on appraising and consulting. And now with people buying fine jewelry on the Internet, our independent objective opinions to authenticate and verify that our clients get what they paid for has become essential for their peace of mind. Our outlook remains very positive!

For anyone starting out in business, my best advice is to stay out of debt. Managing debt should be an important part of any business plan.

Anything to help improve the traffic in the Galleria/West Loop area would certainly help our business. We work by appointment and our clients often mention the challenges of getting to us through heavy traffic.

Contact Info:

• Address: Ben Gordon MGG/A
  The Jewelry Judge
  5433 Westheimer, suite 606
  Houston, TX 77056
• Website: www.jewelryjudgebengordon.com
• Phone: 713 961 1432
• Email: jjudge@jewelryjudgebengordon.com or gordonben26@gmail.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thejewelryjudge
• Yelp: www.yelp.com/bis/the-jewelry-judge-houston-2
• Other: www.bbb.org/houston/business-reviews/appraisers/jewelry-judge-ben-gordon-in-houston-tx-43001898reviews-and-complaints

Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.