Sandra Boyle Dougherty is one of Hawaii’s most experienced jewelry appraisers and the principal of AGS Jewelry Appraisal Services, established in Honolulu in 2003. From the firm’s office in downtown Honolulu’s business district, she has spent over two decades serving Honolulu residents and clients across the Hawaiian Islands with independent, USPAP-compliant appraisals.
A Graduate Gemologist of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA GG), Sandra attended the GIA’s Santa Monica campus in residence in 1981–2. With over 44 years in the jewelry industry, her practice in Honolulu has built a long-standing reputation for accuracy, integrity, and fair pricing.
Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Sandra’s career began with Kilkenny jewelry designer Rudolf Heltzel. Her enchantment with the world of diamonds and gemstones began in early childhood while researching a school project on the Venetian merchant and explorer Marco Polo and his adventures while traveling the Silk Road, an ancient trade route linking China and Rome.
On a trip to India in the summer of 1979, Sandra embarked on her own adventure traveling a similar route overland from Europe to the Far East. While visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra and the surrounding area of Rajasthan, she visited the many gem dealers in Jaipur and the surrounding areas and arrived back in Europe several months later with a pocketful of rare and beautiful gems — and so began a lifelong passion for gemology.
Realizing her limited knowledge of gems, and knowing that it was her calling, she left Ireland to attend GIA in Los Angeles — at that time the foremost world authority in education on gems and jewelry.
Sandra’s passion for gemstones drives her to continue to seek out new knowledge. She attends gem and jewelry trade shows and regularly attends educational conferences.
As a result of her travels abroad, in particular her travels to India and the mines and trading centers of Sri Lanka and Thailand, Sandra has gained hands-on experience about gemstone grading, their origins, and various enhancement techniques at the source.
Sandra believes it is not where she has learned what she knows, but rather what she can do with what she has learned. Education is a continuous process and does not come solely from an institution or another individual, but from all experiences.
Sandra is a member of JAWS, an international body of qualified independent jewelry appraisers.
Sandra is an international member of the JVA — the UK’s professional body for jewelry valuers.
