Terms of use
The nature of an examination record, the limits of the method, and the liability framework.
This page is the public version of the limitations text printed at the end of every examination record. It also applies as an annex to the service contract.
Nature of the document
- The document is an examination record: an expert opinion based on an examination made on the stated date with the stated methods, instruments and available references.
- We undertake to apply the methods with professional care; we do not undertake to reach a particular material, period, maker or school conclusion.
- Inconclusive and further examination required are valid conclusion levels; where the methods were properly applied, they are not in themselves a defect in the service.
- An examination record is not a certificate, warranty, insurance document, certificate of origin, proof of ownership, guarantee against theft, permit, or binding valuation.
Scope and method limits
- Tests performed and not performed are listed one by one in the scope section; the effect of a test not performed is expressed as an uncertainty level in the relevant dimension.
- Hydrostatic measurement, UV365 fluorescence, surface testing and microscopic observation are screening methods; on their own they do not produce a definitive material identification.
- A period conclusion is given as a band with a confidence level, not an exact year.
- In the style of, influenced by and consistent with the school do not mean that the object was made by that master.
- Components are assessed separately; a conclusion about one component does not extend to the others. The condition assessment reflects the state on the examination date.
Declarations and provenance
- Declarations by owners, sellers or third parties about material, period, maker and value are shown separately; they are not our examination result and are not treated as verified.
- Provenance counts as verified only to the extent it can be verified; an undocumented account remains a declaration.
Market information
- Where the record contains a market band, it is a statistical reference derived from dated and sourced observations; it is not investment advice, a valuation or a price guarantee.
- Our purchase cost, margin, target price or the value declared by the customer cannot be an input to the material, period or maker conclusion.
Limits of remote pre-assessment
- A remote pre-assessment is not a record; it does not produce a published examination record.
- It rests on photographs and declarations only; it involves no physical measurement, laboratory test or microscopic examination.
- The conclusion cannot exceed the consistent findings level of evidence strength, or the in the style of step of attribution.
- If frame quality is insufficient the slot closes as unassessable; measurements taken at home are declarations, not observations.
Liability and third-party use
- This text does not remove rights arising from mandatory law for consumers or other parties. Intent, gross negligence and liabilities that cannot be limited by law are reserved.
- Third parties may check authenticity, the current version and the findings on the verification page. This creates no advisory, valuation, investment or sales assurance relationship.
- Before any transaction, check that the physical object matches the recorded one, the current version on the verification page, the tests performed and not performed, and the legal status warnings.
Version management
- Every record is stored as an immutable version; older versions are not deleted but remain in the history as superseded.
- A new reference, laboratory result, method or correction of a material error may create a new version; an update that materially changes the conclusion is notified to the customer within a reasonable period.
- Publishing a new version does not retroactively undo the assessment of professional care at the date of the earlier version. The current version is shown prominently on the verification page.
Intellectual property and use of the document
- Rights in the record text, its design and the images we take belong to us unless otherwise agreed.
- The owner may use the record to present and sell the object without impairing its integrity; it may not be split, cropped or used with altered conclusion levels. The TES number and verification code cannot be moved to another object.
Regulated materials and cultural property
- A finding of ivory, tortoiseshell, coral or another regulated material is not a permit or certificate that acquisition, possession, sale, transfer, transport or export is lawful. Calling an object antique or pre-dating a given year does not by itself mean it is legally free.
- A conclusion about the period of an object is not an official status determination under cultural property law; the system only raises a risk trigger and legal status is determined by the competent authority.
- If a risk is triggered, the related commercial and transfer operations may be suspended; an object whose legal status is unclear is not taken into our sales, consignment, auction or export flow.
Re-examination
- The customer may request an internal re-examination within 30 days of the record date. This period does not shorten statutory claim, litigation or limitation periods.
- A re-examination is logged as a separate session and, where necessary, a new version is created.
Governing law and disputes
- Turkish law applies. In consumer transactions, the mandatory rules on consumer arbitration committees, mandatory mediation and consumer courts are reserved.
Verification
- The valid version is checked on the verification page using the object number, version and content digest. If the QR code does not work, or the page shows an out-of-date warning, the verification page prevails.