The first step consists in taking an appointment with the expert. The sending of photographs does not make it possible to assess the quality or the authenticity of an object.

During the appointment we propose to you :

• oral expertise: the expert will verbally tell you the date, the origin and maybe the author of your object (there will be no written report issued ) (consult fees at the end of the page).

If the object proves to be of value, you will have various choices:

• the certificate of authenticity: It is in a way the passport of the instrument. It is written on a special paper and comes with 3 color photographs, and with the seal of the expert (consult fees at the end of the page). This certificate guarantees you the origin of your object for 12 years minimum. This guarantee is borne by the expert who signs of his name this certificate.

Of course any certificate, signed by a company or people not entitled to this kind of work or no more alive, will not have any legal authenticity in France.

• the certificate of value: generally, this document supplements the certificate of authenticity. (see fees). It gives the commercial value on the day of its signature. It comes with one or two photographs of the object. It thus makes it possible to know with precision the value of your property, whether you want to sell it or keep it.
• The certificate of insurance: the insurance companies insure all the instruments of the quartet and its bows at the condition that a professional expert gives with precision an appraisal of their goods. (see fees at the end of the page)

Indeed, in the event of disaster or theft this document which includes one or two photographs of your instrument will be required by your insurer. Even if you hold photographs (professional ones or ones taken at a concert….), only the certificate of the legal expert (and more particularly those attached to the Court of Appeal of Paris or to an important city), will allow the insurance company to conduct the investigation for the file within a reasonable time.

During the drafting of a document, Serge Boyer always takes a big number of photographs of the object, which allows, in case of theft to show them to the competent authorities and in the event of disaster, to be able to prove the state of the object before the accident.

If you hold such a document from a legal expert and if a disaster occurs, and if your insurance company asks a second expert assessment, all the steps, the photographs and the appraisal of your expert will facilitate in a considerable way the evaluation of your damage.

At present time, we receive every week notices of thefts of instruments or bows but through lack of photographs, it is almost impossible to identify them should they be shown to us in our shop.

• Oral expertise: free

• Drafting of a certificate of value: 3% (tax not included) of the estimated value of the object

• Drafting of a certificate of insurance: 3% (tax not included) of the estimated value of the object

• Drafting of a certificate of authenticity: 5% (tax not included) of the estimated value of the object

Most of the time, the owners of the instruments or bows stolen do not have photographs of their goods on which they play every day!

The expert Serge Boyer offers to photograph your instruments and bows, and to transfer them on CD-Rom for you.

Do not hesitate has to ask conditions.

Searches will thus be made easy at the borders, in the auction-rooms, on the markets….and particularly the procedures will be facilitated with the insurance companies who will be able to base the estimation of the disaster on exploitable photographs….