Clock valuations: Valuing and identifying your
clock
Valuing
and identifying your clock - a service we offer
If you have a clock you wish to find out more about - its age, its genuineness, its rarity, its value, what is known of the maker's life - this is a professional service we offer.
We can value your clock for you, including carrying out an identification of its age, the maker's known working dates and an appraisal of the clock's genuineness, its insured value or its selling value, provided it is a British-made clock of serious age - that is over a hundred years old. We don't undertake valuations of foreign clocks.
In Great Britain we do not have the 'accredited appraiser' system operated in the United States. My qualifications for this consist of 43 years' experience in buying and selling clocks as well as undertaking original research into clocks and clockmakers, the results of which are published in 25 books I have written about clocks. And being winner in 2001 of the BACA award for excellence based among other things on depth of knowledge of the subject. And the exceptionally unusual award of an Honorary Fellowship of the British Horological Institute for services to horology.
FOR THIS SERVICE WE CHARGE A SET FEE OF £50 STERLING (currently $100 US), regardless
of value. I am afraid we don't carry out valuations
free of charge - please do not enquire about valuations unless you are willing to pay the fee.
For a longcase clock we would need to see a photograph of the whole clock plus a head-and-shoulders such as will reveal detail of the dial and hood. For most purposes this is adequate, and if we need more we will come back to you. Images can be sent to us by email if you prefer.
We regret WE CANNOT TAKE PAYMENT BY ANY FORM OF DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD. Post us a cheque payable in sterling to 'B. Loomes' drawn on a UK branch of any bank. (If this is difficult for overseas clients, then send me an email and I will suggest other methods of payment.) Post cheque to: Brian Loomes, Calf Haugh Farmhouse, Pateley Bridge, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG3 5HW, England.
A clock has several values,
and we need to know which value you require.
For insurance purposes you need to know what
it would cost to replace it with one of similar
age, quality, type, and your insurers will want
a statement of its 'replacement value' from
a recognised professional. Your insurance company will insist on a serious, written valuation by an accredited or recognised valuer, and this is what we supply.
If you want to know
its selling value, this is quite a different
figure.
To be able to value it, we need to know
which value you want.
Identifying your clock
for yourself
You can identify your clock
for yourself quite easily by looking up its
type and style in one of a great many books
on the subject. Once you know the country of
origin, you can learn more about it by using
a book on clocks of that nation. Brian Loomes
has written twenty two books about many aspects
of British clocks and their makers. You will
find these listed elsewhere
on this website.
You cannot expect to identify
your clock by typing the maker's name into a
search engine and hoping someone will provide
you with the answer free of charge.
Auction houses
The larger auction houses
will normally offer an opinion as to how much
they think they could sell your clock for, provided
you have in mind selling it through auction.
Most of them make no charge for this service.
Naturally you would also need to clarify the
fee they would charge you if they did sell it,
and the buyer's premium, as, when added together,
these costs might mean you would actually receive
up to one third less than the buyer paid for
the clock. Auctioneers well known internationally
include: www.bonhams.com
, www.christies.com,
www.sothebys.com,
www.tennants.co.uk.
Copyright
© 2003 Brian Loomes
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