Your collection, properly researched

Collectors get the same research depth on every piece, whether it is a $40 print or a $40,000 watch: identified marks, an evidence strip of matched archive images, an explicit confidence figure, and the reasoning behind the range. Pieces sit in named collections and export as per-item PDFs, an Excel workbook or CSV.

What a collector's valuation report contains

Every report carries the same depth whether the piece is a $40 print or a $40,000 watch. Eight things arrive in each one: maker's marks identified, cropped and dated; cited auction comparables from houses such as Christie's, Bonhams and Heritage, all clickable; a visual evidence strip of archive thumbnails matched to your item; condition, restoration history and authenticity confidence; local and global market differences; selling platforms ranked with reasons; timing advice on holding versus selling; and a PDF you can hand to a dealer or an insurer.

How the comparable sales are ranked and checked

Comparables are ranked by how closely they match and tagged high match or medium match, each carrying the sale date, the price paid and a link straight to the lot. Click a figure and you land on the record it came from. Each estimate also states a confidence percentage in plain numbers, and where an attribution or a condition call is uncertain the report names what would settle it. Source links are checked both to exist and to contain the supporting evidence claimed.

How it works: photograph, research, document

Three steps. Capture the piece from several angles in clear light — the front, the marks, the base. Phone photos are enough; every photo you send gets examined. The research happens on our side: comparable sales, hallmark research, condition notes, and a second independent review that argues against the first before you see either. The finished report is saved to your account and downloadable as a PDF.

Organising, exporting and sharing a collection

Pieces sit in named collections grouped the way your collection actually lives — by maker, period, region or material — and move between them as your thinking evolves. A portfolio view shows total value across the collection, recent additions and highest-value pieces. Exports cover per-item PDF reports, an Excel workbook with item thumbnails embedded, and CSV data for an insurer or accountant. Sharing is read-only and on your terms: a fellow collector, a broker, or a single piece sent to an auction-house specialist for a second opinion.

Why collectors keep a documented record

Whether you collect for love, for value, or both, you build something more than a list of items. A documented collection holds up to the moments that matter — the insurance renewal, the succession plan, the conversation with someone who actually knows what they are looking at. Each entry researched once, kept current as the market moves, and sharable in any direction you need.

What it costs, and when to use a specialist in the room

The first valuation is free and no card is needed. After that it is $5 an item, or $2.25 each in packs; cataloguing a whole collection in one batch uses the same pack pricing. The service never buys, sells or takes commission, so there is no consignment ask attached to a figure. When the research fails to complete or falls short of our own standard, the credit returns to your account automatically. If a report otherwise falls down on your piece — no usable comparable sales, or an identification that does not hold — write to support@findthevalueof.com within 14 days; the usual remedy is a re-run, with a refund where that does not settle it. This is a documented research service rather than a hands-on appraisal. Contested authenticity on six-figure pieces, major fine-art attributions, material testing and court-grade probate appraisals still deserve a specialist in the room, and the report says so when yours is one of them.