Howard Rubin, Inventor of GemDialogue, Passes Away

Howard Rubin, Inventor of GemDialogue, Passes Away

Howard Rubin passed away on January 17th at the age of 86. His sixty four years of gem trade experience touched every facet of the jewelry industry. 

After serving in World War II as an infantry soldier, he took advantage of the G.I. Bill to hone his skills as a diamond and colored stone setter. He studied gemology in the 1950s: first to become a better artisan by learning the properties of the stones he worked with, and then, in 1982 to enhance his knowledge of the science of color so he could develop a system that would allow jewelers to “talk” to each other. This became GemDialogue, that teaches a system for description and color notation of gemstones and fancy color diamonds – having made a permanent impact on the jewelry industry. GemDialogue will remain active and continues to support the industry.

Howard was the President of the AGS New York Guild from 1976-1977. From 1979 to 1988 he was the Vice President of Leer Gem Ltd., the color stone division of M. Fabrikant & Sons Diamond Company. This was followed by an enriched career as a consultant to companies like QVC, Walmart, I.B. Goodman, Charles & Colvard.

In 1990 and onward, Mr. Rubin acted as an independent consultant, appraiser and educator. In 1993 he joined his wife Gail Brett Levine’s appraisal practice company, Timeless, Inc., as senior evaluator and appraiser.

He was a Senior Member and the National Secretary of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers (NAJA) and was NAJA’s representative at The Appraisal Foundation serving on the Industry Advisory Council since 2004. Mr. Rubin recently received the 2011 Manhattan Chapter GIA Alumni Chapter Achievement Award.

He is survived by his wife Gail, four children, and one grandchild.