Every piece is authenticated twice.
Once by the vetted network we buy from, before we ever commit. Again by us on arrival, independently, before anything is graded, photographed, or listed.
Our standards
What we hold ourselves to.
Four standards, held on every piece that carries our name. Short enough to remember, specific enough to be held to.
Every piece is graded against a published rubric.
“Excellent” means the same thing every time, on every piece. The rubric is public so anyone can hold us to it.
Every flaw is shown before you buy.
Photographed from every angle — the corners, the interior, the hardware, and whatever is wrong with it. We'd rather lose the sale than have you open the box disappointed.
Every piece is presented and packed as though it were new.
It's a gift even when you bought it for yourself.
Standard two, in full
The rubric, published.
A standard nobody can check is a slogan. Here are the five words we grade with and exactly what each one commits us to.
| Grade | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pristine | Unworn or indistinguishable from unworn. No visible flaws under studio light. |
| Excellent | Light, careful use. Faint surface wear you have to look for. Nothing structural. |
| Very Good | Honest wear — light corner rub, faint interior marks — photographed and listed on the piece. |
| Good | Visible wear that has settled into character. Every flaw shown from every angle. |
| Loved | A piece with a past. Priced for it, photographed without mercy, described without excuses. |
Standard three, demonstrated
This is what “every flaw shown” means.
Not a promise about photography — an actual piece, with the wear marked. Every note here also appears on the listing and on the certificate.
Corner wear
Shown before you buy. Photographed straight on — never styled away.
Hardware
Shot under raking light, so a scratch has nowhere to hide.
The surface
Patina, marks, pen lines — the interior gets the same lens as the outside.
Press a marker to read the note. Every note also appears on the listing.
Written down
Each standard ends up on one piece of paper.
The certificate is where the four standards stop being a page on a website and become a record attached to your specific object.
Certificate number
Unique to the piece. Quote it to us any time and we'll confirm the record.
Pass one
Signed off inside the vetted network we bought from — before we ever committed.
Pass two
Run by us on arrival, independent of the first.
The piece
Named and described, so the certificate can never drift to another item.
The date
The day it cleared the second pass and earned its listing.
The other half
And four things we won’t do.
A standard is only worth reading if something is actually ruled out by it.
We won't restore a piece quietly.
If something has been repaired or refinished, it's on the certificate. A restored piece can be a good piece. A restored piece sold as untouched is a different object than the one you paid for.
We won't photograph around a flaw.
No flattering angle, no soft focus over the worn corner, no stock image standing in for the piece you're actually buying. What you see is the object in the box.
We won't say guaranteed authentic.
That's a legal promise dressed up as reassurance. What we offer is two independent passes, a certificate that records them, and a remedy if we get it wrong.
We won't name who we buy from.
Our supply relationships are built over years and they're nobody else's business. The people we work with know that about us before they ever ship to us.
If we're ever wrong
A process, a certificate, and a remedy.
We don't say guaranteed. We say authenticated twice, and we publish what happens if that isn't enough.
If a piece fails our second pass, it goes back to its source before it ever ships. If it shipped and it shouldn't have, you get a full refund.
That’s the whole list.
Four standards, one rubric, one certificate, one remedy. Everything else on this site is us showing our work.