The house
How we
authenticate
Everything second-hand is checked before it goes on the shelf — papers, case, movement, rate and stones, in that order. What does not pass is not sold.
Authentication
How we authenticate
Everything second-hand is authenticated before it goes on the shelf, and again if it has been away. The order below is deliberate: the cheapest checks come first, and anything that fails one does not reach the next.
If a piece does not pass, we do not sell it and we tell the person who brought it in exactly what we found.
- 01
The papers, first
Box, papers, service records and the purchase history. Provenance is not proof on its own, but a gap in it tells you where to look harder.
- 02
Reference against case
The reference and serial are cross-checked against the case, lugs, crown and bracelet. A correct dial in an incorrect case is the most common thing we turn away.
- 03
The movement, uncased
The caseback comes off. Calibre, finishing, jewelling and the service history the movement itself shows — which is frequently not the history on the paperwork.
- 04
On the timegrapher
Rate, amplitude and beat error across positions. A movement that will not hold a rate is a movement with a story.
- 05
Stones, on certificate
Report numbers are verified with the issuing laboratory directly, and the girdle inscription is read under the loupe against the report. A certificate that travels separately from its stone is worth nothing.
Something to sell?
We check what we buy exactly the same way. Find out what yours is worth online, or bring it to the counter.