  
A Short History on How The Company Was Formed Jeanenne Bell -- our founder, has been in the jewelry business for over for 30 years. During these years she has shared her vast knowledge with millions of people through the many books she has written. Some of these were published by Krause Publications and some were published by Collector Books. While doing numerous Garden Shows and Antiques Shows and talking with a wide variety of people, Jeanenne came to realize that most people do not know where to start to determine exactly what they have. Most books are written for the collector or dealer in mind and assume that the buyer already knows what they have. For example, the very same 'dies' were used in the 1920's-30's for platinum, white gold, sterling silver and base metal pieces of jewelry. If a reader sees a piece that looks like the one that they own. they are likely to assume that theirs is the same value as the one in the book. Unfortunately the one pictured in the book may be platinum and theirs' may be a silver plated piece. This makes a big difference in value. So where does one start? How can one know the difference ? What do the different marks and numbers mean? Is costume jewelry valuable? How can I tell if a piece is really amber, cellluloid, bakelite tortoise shell or just a cheap plastic? This is why "How To Be A Jewelry Detective" was written. The reaction has been great! In fact it is so great that we realized that there was a need for this type of book in a huge range of subjects. Thus 'Antiques Detectives' and 'A.D. Publishing' was born. We seek out the finest experts in each subject to write our books. Because we realize that most people like to take our books with them with them when they go 'antiqueing', we have purposely kept the books small. Most of them are less than 200 pages (whenever possible). The Detectives in each field of expertise have filled each book with clues for solving the mysteries. They share the clues that will help answer questions and show you what to look for in order to solve the mystery of your piece. Because we realize how frustrating it can be to have an interest and not be able to find the tools that are sometimes needed, we have made it convenient by forming a division of "Antiques Detectives" known as A.D. Tools and Supplies. We welcome any suggestions or questions. Enjoy!
Our Crew
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