Private Concierge
For collectors and designers buying a single piece above $500. Sourcing, condition reports, framing, and bespoke commissioning through our fifty specialist dealers. The most common first contact.
Concierge Desk · Barnes, London
A direct line to the specialists who catalogue every piece in the marketplace.
Inquiries about specimens over $5,000 are read by a named specialist, not a queue. We answer in working hours, in plain English, with the kind of paper trail a Mayfair auction house would recognise as their own.
Direct line · Mon–Fri GMT
Speak to a Specialist
Tell us which desk should read your message. The four tracks route your inquiry to the named specialist who handles that work — not a shared inbox. We treat every message as the start of a relationship, not a ticket.
A note from the desk
Dear collector, designer, curator —
If you are reading this, you are about to spend more on a single specimen than most people spend on a holiday. You deserve to know exactly who reads your message and what happens after you press send.
We are seven geologists, three ASA / NAVA accredited antique specialists, and a small London and Lyon concierge team, totalling 42 people. Every email is read by one of us, under our own name. We do not use shared inboxes, automated responses, or outsourced support desks — the concierge desk in Barnes is staffed every working day from 09:00 to 18:00 GMT, and a named specialist will be on the line when you call.
You will not receive a catalogue. You will receive a reply that addresses the piece, the question, or the project you wrote about. If we do not have what you are looking for, we will say so — and then we will tell you which of our fifty specialist dealers across fourteen European countries we would ask first. If we believe the piece is not right for you, we will say so as plainly. We have been here since 2011 and we expect our relationships with buyers to last, on average, more than four years; candour is a part of that.
You may write to us about anything. A $600 ammonite, a $20,000 institutional order, a question about a fossil your grandfather left you, or a single paragraph asking whether a piece you saw this morning is worth pursuing. We will treat all of these with the same attention.
Working hours or not, we look forward to your letter.
— The concierge desk, Barnes, London
What happens after you write to us
Four guarantees that hold for every order, regardless of value.
High-value antique and fossil buys online come down to four operational questions. The answers below are not aspirational — they are the standing terms under which we have shipped since 2011.
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I
Insured global shipping on 100% of orders.
Every piece, from a $280 mineral to a $40,000 fossil slab, is shipped insured to its full invoice value. White-glove crating, climate-controlled transit, and a named carrier on every booking. Damaged-in-transit claims are resolved within five business days; since launch we have restored 4,200+ pieces free of charge.
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II
A signed Certificate of Authenticity with every piece.
Authenticity is the foundation of the marketplace. Every order ships with a Certificate of Authenticity signed by the cataloguing specialist, the full provenance paper trail, and (for natural history specimens) the locality and period of recovery. Our authentication checklist is the most widely used in the trade — adopted by over 1,400 auction houses worldwide.
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III
A 14-day return window — even on opened specimens.
Specimens are not the same as shoes. We give you fourteen calendar days to live with a piece in your home, your studio, or your gallery before you decide. We extend the same window to opened specimens because we trust our cataloguing — and because a flat "unopened only" rule reads as a hedge.
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IV
24-hour dispatch on 98.7% of orders.
Once payment and authentication clear, the piece leaves our Barnes warehouse the next working day. The 1.3% that does not is reserved for pieces requiring conservation, crating for a flight, or a final provenance check — we will tell you which it is, and when to expect dispatch, in writing.
Route past the form
If you already know which specialist you need.
Not every inquiry needs a form. Below are the desks that handle the most common requests — with a direct email for each. Use whichever matches your question, or write to concierge@ and we will route you.
Trade & Institutional Sourcing
For interior designers specifying for projects, museum curators, university geology departments, and private collectors building a permanent archive. Bespoke panels, recurring supply agreements, and NET 30 terms on request.
Authentication & Provenance
If you already own a piece and want a second opinion, or a written authentication suitable for resale, insurance, or donation. Our seven in-house geologists and three ASA / NAVA specialists write the report and sign it.
Press, Editorial & Loans
For Financial Times, Architectural Digest, BBC Antiques Roadshow, and editorial features. Specimen loans for photography, expert commentary, and image requests are coordinated here. We have a permanent archive donated to the Natural History Museum in 2020 for research requests.
Specialist desks beyond the four above
- Returns & In-Transit Claims[email protected]
- Accounts & Trade Credit[email protected]
- Conservation & Restoration[email protected]
- Dealer Network Applications[email protected]
Questions buyers ask the concierge
Six questions, answered in writing before you write.
The six we hear most often from collectors, designers, and curators committing funds. If your question is not below, the form at the top of this page routes to the right specialist.
I. What depth of provenance documentation ships with a piece?
Every order ships with a signed Certificate of Authenticity, the cataloguing specialist's report, and the full provenance chain of ownership where known. For natural history specimens, we also document the locality of recovery and the period. Institutional buyers receive a notarised dossier on request; please flag this when you write to [email protected].
II. Can I request a condition report before purchase?
Yes. Every piece in the marketplace has a published condition report. If you would like additional photographs under specific lighting, a second specialist's opinion, or a written condition report beyond the standard, request it through the form at the top of this page and we will prepare it in writing — typically within one working day.
III. Do you ship internationally, and how is it insured?
We ship worldwide, insured to the full invoice value on every order. White-glove crating for pieces above $5,000, climate-controlled transit for sensitive minerals and fossils, and a named carrier you can contact directly. Customs documentation is prepared by our shipping team and included with the consignment.
IV. What does the 14-day return window cover?
Every order may be returned within fourteen calendar days of receipt for a full refund of the purchase price. The window applies to opened specimens — by which we mean a fossil you have had on your desk to look at under your own lamp, or an antique you have placed in a room to consider. We ask only that the piece is returned in the same condition you received it and in its original packing.
V. Can interior designers and institutional buyers open a trade account?
We work with 240+ professional interior designers and 38 institutional buyers including university geology departments. Trade accounts carry NET 30 terms on request, recurring sourcing agreements, and a dedicated point of contact at the trade desk. Apply through [email protected].
VI. Can I commission a piece not in the current catalogue?
Yes. Our network of fifty specialist dealers across fourteen European countries can often locate a piece off-catalogue, or a fossil from a specific locality or period. Tell us what you are looking for — even a paragraph is enough — and we will write back with what we can find, what we cannot, and a conservative estimate of cost and timeline.
Still have a question?
Write to the desk at the top of this page and a named specialist will reply in working hours. We treat every note as the first paragraph of a relationship that, on average, lasts more than four years.