Everard and Company brings together antiques experts, professional auction experience and the means to reach potential buyers worldwide.

Antiques auctions are traditionally identified by hushed audiences surreptitiously holding up bidding paddles in response to the auctioneer's plea for more bids. A solid hack of a gavel signals the item up for bid isn't going anymore - it's gone

But Savannah's newest auction house doesn't have a storeroom filled with folding chairs. Nor does its auctioneer peer beseechingly over half glasses trying to squeeze out one more bid from reluctant bargain hunters.

Instead Everard & Co. ends its auctions based on the clock - and it may hose thousands of buyers who have never been to Savannah, much less North America.

Amanda and Chris Everard use the Internet as their auction house, and before you think this is just another eBay knockoff, guess again.

The online auction service eBay may have revolutionized the way we buy and sell - and effectively eliminated borders between markets, but Everard & Co. won't be selling any Beanie Babies or Avon bottles. Instead, the company hosts four or so online auctions that offer international buyers unique furniture, art and decorative arts that have fetched near six figures.

And in a community whose leaders lament that talented youth flee for high tech, high paying jobs in other cities, the Everards exemplify what can be achieved with creativity, talent and technology right here on the Georgia coast.

"Chris is an ex-banker," Amanda says. "And I spent 11 years in Sotheby's furniture department. My parents had retired here and we fled New York's quality of life for Savannah."

The young couple and their fledgling business, which as hosted only three online auctions, are already making waves.

A recent sale of Asian furniture and art "brought and international audience," Amanda explained. "We had bidders from 35-or 30 states, as well as 12 countries."

Chris pulls up auction results on a laptop computer, showing highly detailed photographs and authenticating information that accompanies each item up for bid.

"See this pair of Zitan wood carved Asian cabinets?" he asks, pointing to the computer screen. "They started at $1,500 - by close, we had 78 bids and they sold for $70,000 plus premium. That set a world record for furniture and Asian furniture sold over the Internet."

The Everards work through the online auction site iGavel, which is in turn fueled by a network of high-end antiques dealers and auctioneers. That network benefits everyone through sharing of expertise, referrals within a region - and in some cases by matching rare objects with private buyers.

Between auctions, the Everards find objects for the next sale. Currently, they are preparing for an auction in January of fine art and antiques. A sale that runs Oct. 18-Nov. 8 will feature one-of-a-kind and prototype Leica cameras and accessories, as well as several hundred other classic and contemporary cameras, lenses and photographic accessories.

The Everards also consult with potential sellers, perform appraisals and are always on the lookout for the next elusive object - that could be just a mouse click away.

For more information about Everard & Co., call (912) 231-1376, or go online, www.EverardandCompany.com.