Gemstones

Fellows Auctioneers Ltd Fellows Auctioneers Ltd carries on business, including the conduct of Auctions, on these general conditions. This includes any business with Bidders, Buyers, Vendors, Consignors, users of this website, and with all those present on the Premises prior to or in connection with an Auction (all as hereinafter defined). 1. Introduction Definitions and interpretation 1.1 The following defined terms are used in these Conditions: ?Auction? or ?sale? means any auction conducted by Fellows, either at their premises or elsewhere including any internet-based auctions and/or Timed Auctions; "Auctioneer" means Fellows or its authorised Auctioneer, as appropriate; ?Bidder? means a bidder or bidder?s representative at an Auction, including bidders personally present at the venue and those bidding by telephone or over the internet or otherwise; ?Buyer? means the bidder whose bid was the last bid when the Auction ends; ?Conditions? means these terms and conditions; ?Consigned Property? means the items consigned by the Vendor to Fellows for offer at an Auction; "Deliberate Forgery" means an imitation made with the intention of deceiving as to authorship, origin, date, age, period, culture or source but which is unequivocally described by Fellows in the catalogue as being the work of a particular creator and which at the date of the sale had a value materially less than it would have had if it had been in accordance with the description; ?Fellows? means Fellows Auctioneers Ltd; "Hammer Price" means the level of bidding reached (at or above any Reserve) when the Auctioneer sells the Lot; ?Lot? means any Consigned Property accepted by Fellows for offer at Auction; "Stated Rate" means Fellows' published rates of commission for the time being and value added tax thereon (also available on request); ?Timed Auction? means an automatic Auction process administered according to parameters (such as bid increments and end times) established by the Auctioneer and takes place without the Auctioneer calling the bids. Bids are placed over a defined time period ("Bidding Period"). Bidder may be able to view the highest current bid. The highest bid, (being the greatest bid that meets or is in excess of any Reserve), at the end of the Bidding Period is successful at the auctioneer's discretion. A Timed Auction: will either be open to all registered Bidders who have registered and been approved by the Auctioneer or restricted to a defined group of Bidders according to the Auctioneer's chosen criteria; and may also be a 'private treaty sale' or 'tender sale' where Bidders cannot see the value of the bids placed by other Bidders; "Total Amount Due" means the Hammer Price in respect of the Lot sold together with any premium, commission, value added tax chargeable and any additional charges payable by a defaulting Buyer under these Conditions; ?Vendor? or ?Consignor? means the vendor of an item (including Consigned Property) which is submitted to Fellows for offer for sale at an Auction; ?Website? means this website; ?You? or ?you? means any person including anyone with whom Fellows does business and/or any user of the Website. ?Your? or ?your? shall be interpreted accordingly. 1.2 As used herein in these Conditions, each gender shall include all genders, and singular shall include the plural and the plural the singular as the context shall require. Words importing gender include the masculine, feminine, neuter gender, gender neutral, and all genders. Includes, include, including, shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase ?without limitation?. The word includes, include including shall not be construed as limiting a preceding term but rather as permitting the preceding term to refer also to all other matters or items that could reasonably fall within the broadest possible scope. 2. Website 2.1 You may access the Website without registering Your details with Fellows. Certain areas of the Website are only open to You if you register. By accessing any part of the Website, You shall be deemed to have accepted these Conditions notice in full. If You do not accept these Conditions in full, You must leave the Website immediately. 2.2 Fellows may revise these Conditions at any time. You should check the Website from time to time to review the then current Conditions, because it is binding on You. Certain provisions of these Conditions may be superseded by expressly designated legal notices or terms located on particular pages at the Website. 2.3 Unless otherwise stated, the copyright and other intellectual property rights in all material on the Website (including without limitation photographs and graphical images) are owned by Fellows or its licensors. If You breach any of these Conditions, Your permission to use the Website automatically terminates and You must immediately destroy any downloaded or printed extracts from the Website. 2.4 No part of the Website may be reproduced or stored in any other website or included in any public or private electronic retrieval system or service without Fellows? prior written permission. 2.5 Any rights not expressly granted in these Conditions are reserved. 3. Rules about your conduct and uploading content to Fellows Website 3.1 Other than personally identifiable information, which is covered under our Privacy Policy, any material You transmit or post to the Website shall be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. Fellows shall have no obligations with respect to such material. Fellows and its designees shall be free to copy, disclose, distribute, incorporate and otherwise use such material and all data, images, sounds, text and other things embodied therein for any and all commercial or non-commercial purposes. 3.2 You are prohibited from posting or transmitting to or from the Website any material: that is threatening, defamatory, obscene, indecent, seditious, offensive, pornographic, abusive, liable to incite racial hatred, discriminatory, menacing, scandalous, inflammatory, blasphemous, in breach of confidence, in breach of privacy or which may cause annoyance or inconvenience; or for which You have not obtained all necessary licences and/or approvals; or which constitutes or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise be contrary to the law of or infringe the rights of any third party, in any country in the world; or which is technically harmful (including, without limitation, computer viruses, logic bombs, Trojan horses, worms, harmful components, corrupted data or other malicious software or harmful data). 3.3 You may not misuse the Website (including, without limitation, by hacking). 3.4 Each registration is for a single user only. Fellows does not permit You to share your user name and password with any other person nor with multiple users on a network. 3.5 Responsibility for the security of any passwords issued rests with You. 4. The Vendor 4.1 Fellows shall act as agent of the Vendor only. Any contract for the sale of a Lot will be formed between the Vendor and the Buyer. 4.2 Fellows shares Vendor information with third parties for identity and address verification, fraud prevention and to comply with legal obligations. The Vendor warrants and represents to Fellows and the Buyer that information provided by the Vendor is accurate. Where Fellows detects a fraudulent registration or cannot verify Vendor?s identity to a satisfactory standard this may result in Fellows refusing to provide the Vendor with services. 4.3 The Vendor warrants and represents to Fellows and the Buyer that the Vendor is the sole and true owner of the Consigned Property or is properly authorised by the sole and true owner to consign it for sale and is able to transfer good and marketable title to the property free from any third party claims. 4.4 By consigning the Consigned Property to Auction, the Vendor confirms that he/she has the lawful right to sell the Consigned Property and authorises Fellows Auctioneers Ltd to deduct the specified charges. The Vendor warrants and represents that the Vendor has revealed all pertinent information that the Vendor possesses about the Consigned Property, including in relation to any repairs or alterations that may have been carried out. The Vendor shall indemnify Fellows and the Buyer against any loss and expense caused by any breach of this clause 4.4. 4.5 The Vendor shall be entitled to place prior to the time of consignment a reserve on any Lot, being the minimum Hammer Price at which Lot may be sold (?Reserve?). Reserves must be reasonable and Fellows may decline to offer goods which in Fellows' opinion would be subject to an unreasonably high reserve (in which case goods carry the storage and insurance charges stipulated these Conditions). Reserves will not be accepted on items with a bottom estimate less than ?300. The Auctioneer also reserves the right not to accept items which they deem to be unsuitable for Auction. Any estimate given by Fellows shall be an opinion and is not an undertaking, warranty or representation of any kind and will not have any legal effect. Storage and insurance charges shall apply at the point of consignment. 4.6 A Reserve once set cannot be changed except (i) with the written prior consent of Fellows and (ii) no later than 2 working days before the relevant Auction. 4.7 Where a Reserve has been placed only Fellows may bid on behalf of the Vendor. 4.8 The Vendor authorises Fellows to deduct commission from any sold Consigned Property. The standard commission is 15% (plus VAT) unless agreed otherwise by Fellows in writing including by email. Loss or liability for damage will be charged at a rate of 1.5% (plus VAT) calculated on the Hammer Price. A Marketing fee of ?10 (plus VAT) will be charged for each Lot, if unsold Fellows will charge a nominal handling fee of ?10 (plus VAT). 4.9 15 days after completion of Auction and subject to receipt of the Total Amount Due in full by the Buyer, Fellows will pay the Hammer Price achieved for the Lot (less the commission and applicable fees in accordance with clauses 4.8 and 9). 4.10 The Vendor authorises Fellows in their discretion to negotiate a sale by private treaty in the case of a Lot unsold at Auction, in which case the same charges will be payable as if the Lot had been sold at Auction. 4.11 Fellows do not themselves undertake the collection of any items but may, as the Vendor's agent, instruct a contractor on behalf of the Vendor. Fellows disclaims any liability for the actions of such contractor who contracts with the Vendor directly. 4.12 Fellows disclaims all liability for items without sufficient sale instructions, and reserves the right to charge a minimum warehousing charge of ?1.00 plus VAT per item per day. Unsold items are subject to the same charges if the Vendor does not remove them within a reasonable time of notification. If not removed within three weeks Fellows reserves the right to sell the items and defray charges from any net proceeds of sale or at the Vendor's expense to consign them to the local authority for disposal. Fellows disclaims any liability for default by the Buyer or for paying out the Vendor before receiving payment by the Buyer. 4.13 Subject to clause 4.11, Fellows holds all items on their premises and in their custody covered against the risks of fire, burglary and water damage. The charges detailed in clause 4.8 are payable by the Vendor up to the date of any sale and (in Fellows' discretion) the Buyer thereafter until collection. 4.14 The right of Fellows to bid on behalf of the Vendor is expressly reserved. The Vendor acknowledges that Lots are sold subject to the stipulations of these Conditions in their entirety. 4.15 The Auctioneer reserves the right to dispose of any item or Lot that in their opinion is unsaleable. Items or Lots, which do not comply with current legislation or which necessary licences have not been procured by Vendor will not be offered at Auction. 4.16 Any items unsold after an Auction will be reoffered in a subsequent Auction at a reduced Reserve to be agreed within (7) seven working days. The Auctioneer may request the removal of an item if a reduced price cannot be agreed; items not removed within 14 days will be subject to a storage charge. 4.17 A charge of 30% (plus VAT) based on the middle estimate ? plus any other charges incurred ? may be levied for any Lot withdrawn by the Vendor from offer at an Auction. If the item has to be returned by post (or any other method) the Vendor will be responsible for this charge. These charges are to be paid before the item is returned. 4.18 By consigning an item(s) or Lot to Fellows for offer at Auction, the Vendor agrees to these Conditions and authorises Fellows to deduct the specified charges. 5. Publicity 5.1 Any catalogue and buyer guides are provided for information only and do not form by themselves form part of these Conditions. However, the catalogue and the buyer guides may contain additional terms and conditions. 5.2 Fellows reserves the right to use any photographs, background information, and research for publicity purposes both before and after the sale. 6. The Auction 6.1 Any Auction shall be conducted at the absolute discretion of the Auctioneer. 6.2 The Auctioneer shall conduct the Auction with reasonable skill and care. For example, what constitutes a bid shall be at the absolute discretion of the Auctioneer, acting with reasonable skill and care. 6.3 The Auctioneer shall have the right to refuse any bid which does not exceed the previous bid by at least 10% or by such greater proportion as the Auctioneer shall in his or her absolute discretion direct. 6.4 Where two or more bids at the same level are simultaneously received by the Auctioneer, the Auctioneer at his or her absolute discretion shall determine which bid to prefer. Subject to the foregoing, where two or more bids at the same level are simultaneously received by the Auctioneer, any bid by a Bidder personally present at an Auction shall take preference over any bid submitted by telephone or over the internet. Any bid made or attempted by telephone or over the internet shall be deemed to have been made only if received by the Auctioneer. 6.5 Fellows shall have the right, at its absolute discretion, to refuse admission or registration or participation in any Auction by any person. 7. Bidders 7.1 Bidders are required to register their particulars. Fellows shares Bidder information with third parties for identity and address verification, fraud prevention and to comply with legal obligations. The Bidder warrants and represents to Fellows and the Vendor that information provided by the Bidder is accurate. Where Fellows detects a fraudulent registration or cannot verify the Bidder?s identity to a satisfactory standard this may result in Fellows refusing to provide the Bidder with services. 7.2 Bidders are required to satisfy Fellows' security arrangements before entering any part of the premise, viewing the website or bidding at any Auction. 7.3 Bidders accept full liability for all bids submitted. A bid becomes binding once made by a Bidder or his/her representative 7.3 Any successful bids are subject to a Buyer?s Premium, VAT and other applicable fees. 7.4 Subject to clause 6.3, the highest Bidder at the Hammer Price shall be the Buyer. Any dispute about a bid shall be settled at the Auctioneer's absolute discretion. 7.5 Bidders are deemed to act as principals unless there is a written prior acknowledgement by Fellows that a Bidder is acting as an agent for a named principal. 7.6 Bidders shall be responsible for any decision to bid for a particular Lot and shall be deemed to have satisfied themselves as to its condition. Neither Fellows nor its employees or agents shall be responsible for any Bidder?s neglect or default in doing or failing to do so. 7.7 Bidders are given ample opportunities to view and inspect before any sale and prospective Bidders must satisfy themselves as to all such matters. Neither Fellows nor its employees and agents nor the Vendor accept liability for the correctness of any opinions contained in catalogues and buyers guides. 7.8 Any third party reports such as laboratory tests, external authentication reports, or provenance / history provided in relation to a Lot(s) is reflective of the judgments, perspectives, opinions expressed by the respective third party compiling such report(s) and may not align with the views or opinions of Fellows. Fellows does not endorse or hold the same opinions as those expressed in the reports. Buyers should interpret and consider the findings within the context of the report?s creator?s expertise and analysis. All conditions and warranties, express, implied or statutory relating to any Lots are hereby excluded. 8. The Buyer 8.1 Buyers are required to register their particulars. Fellows shares Buyer information with third parties for identity and address verification, fraud prevention and to comply with legal obligations. The Buyer warrants and represents to Fellows and the Vendor that information provided by the Buyer is accurate. Where Fellows detects a fraudulent registration or cannot verify Buyer?s identity to a satisfactory standard this may result in Fellows refusing to provide the Buyer with services. 8.2 Immediately following completion of the relevant Auction, the Buyer shall pay to Fellows the Total Amount Due. Sold Lots are not eligible for refunds. The foregoing does not affect the Buyer?s statutory rights. 8.3 Fellows may, at its absolute discretion, agree credit terms with the Buyer before an Auction under which the Buyer may be entitled to take possession of Lots up to an agreed value in advance of payment by a stipulated future date of the Total Amount Due. 8.4 Cheques shall not be acceptable by Fellows (unless Fellows in its absolute discretion permits payment by such method) nor are third party references or credit facilities with other Auction houses. If a cheque is tendered Fellows reserves the right to instruct its bank to check the Buyer's status and account balance before exercising any discretion. Any credit arrangement must be settled at least 4 days before the relevant sale. Any permitted payment by credit card may carry an extra charge to the Buyer of such percentage of the Total Amount Due. 8.5 Any payments by a Buyer to Fellows may be applied by Fellows towards any sums owing from that Buyer to Fellows on any account whatever without regard to any directions of the Buyer or his agent, whether express or implied. 8.6 The Buyer is responsible for any taxes, charges or restrictions that apply in the relevant country or authorities. The Buyer is responsible for paying any import duties, taxes, and other fees imposed by the relevant country or authorities. 8.7 The Buyer is responsible for ensuring that the Lots purchased comply with the relevant country?s laws and regulations, including any restrictions on particular goods. 8.8 Fellows disclaims liability for any costs or compliance requirements set out in the above clauses 8.6 and 8.7. 9. The Purchase Price 9.1 On the first ?100,000 of the Hammer Price (of any individual Lot) the Buyer will pay the Hammer Price and a premium of 25% (plus VAT). The said premium payable by buyers. Value Added Tax is charged at the rate prevailing by law at the date of sale. 9.2 On the excess over ?100,000 of the Hammer Price (of any individual Lot), the Buyer will pay the Hammer Price and a premium of 15% (plus VAT). The said premium not being negotiable and payable by ALL Buyers. The Vendor authorises Fellows to retain beneficially the premium payable by Buyers. Value Added Tax is charged at the rate prevailing by law at the date of sale. 9.3 Where Value Added Tax on the Hammer Price is applicable, a notice shall be provided to that effect. 9.4 Some Buyers may be eligible for VAT refunds. Fellows are under no obligation to provide VAT refunds, although may at its discretion offer assistance to Buyers to obtain VAT refunds from HMRC who are the ultimate authority regarding VAT. VAT refunds are subject to provision of relevant export/import documentation. 10. Title and Collection of Purchases 10.1 The ownership of any Lot purchased shall not pass to the relevant Buyer until they have made payment in full to Fellows of the Total Amount Due. 10.2 Buyers shall at their own risk and expense take away any Lot that they have purchased and paid for not later than 5 working days following the day of the Auction after which they shall be responsible for any removal, storage and insurance charges. 10.3 Any delivery costs shall be paid in advance of collection by or delivery to the Buyer. The Buyer is responsible for all costs related to packing, shipping, handling, delivery, taxes and import licences relating to the sold Lots. 10.4 Fellows disclaim responsibility for the services provided by the delivery third parties used by or suggested by Fellows. 11. Default by Buyer or Vendor 11.1 As Fellows act as agent for the Vendor, Fellows is not responsible for default by the Vendor or the Buyer. 11.2 If any Lot is not paid for in full and taken away in accordance with these Conditions, or if there is any other breach of these Conditions, Fellows as agent for the Vendor shall at its absolute discretion and without prejudice to any other rights it may have, be entitled to exercise all or any of the following rights and remedies: (a) to proceed against the Buyer for an action for debt or damages for breach of contract; (b) to rescind the sale of that Lot and/or any other Lots sold by Fellows to the defaulting Buyer; (c) to re-sell the Lot by Auction or private treaty. If a lower Hammer Price is achieved on the re-sale than that achieved on the original sale the defaulting Buyer shall be liable for the difference (after crediting any part payment and adding any reasonable associated costs). Fellows will account to the Vendor for any surplus achieved on a re-sale, however, it shall only be required to account to the Vendor for any resulting deficiency in the event that it receives payment of such sum in full from the defaulting Buyer. (d) to remove, store and insure the Lot at the expense of the defaulting Buyer and, in the case of storage, either at Fellows' premises or elsewhere; (e) to charge interest at a rate not exceeding 1.5% per month on the total amount due to the extent it remains unpaid for more than 2 working days after the sale; (f) to retain that or any other Lot sold to the defaulting Buyer until that Buyer pays the total amount due; (g) to reject or ignore bids from the defaulting Buyer or refuse defaulting Buyer admission or participation at future Auctions or block such defaulting Buyer from accessing any Fellows services or website or impose conditions before any bids from defaulting Buyer shall be accepted; (h) to apply any proceeds of sale of other Lots due or in future becoming due to the defaulting Buyer towards the settlement of the total amount due and to exercise a lien on any of the Buyer's property in Fellows' possession for any purpose. 12. Deliberate Forgeries 12.1 Subject to clause 12.2, any representation or statement by Fellows (including in any catalogue) as to authorship, genuineness, origin, date, age, provenance, condition or estimated selling price is a statement of opinion only. Prospective Buyers are given ample opportunities to view and inspect before any sale and prospective Buyers must satisfy themselves as to all such matters. Neither Fellows or its employees or agents nor the Vendor accept liability for the correctness of such opinions and all conditions and warranties, express, implied or statutory are hereby excluded. 12.2 Any Lot which is proven to Fellows? sole discretion to be a Deliberate Forgery may be returned to Fellows by the Buyer within 21 days of the Auction provided it is in the same condition as when bought, and is accompanied by particulars identifying it from the relevant catalogue description and a written statement of defects. If Fellows is satisfied from the evidence presented that the Lot is a Deliberate Forgery Fellows shall refund the money paid by the Buyer for the Lot (but not the amount of any consequential loss, damages, expenses or interest) provided that (1) if the catalogue description reflected the accepted view of scholars and experts as at the date of sale or (2) the Buyer personally is not able to transfer a good and marketable title to Fellows. 13. Limitations of Liability 13.1 All members of the public on the premises are there at their own risk and must note the lay-out of the accommodation and security arrangements. 13.2 Any indemnity under these Conditions shall extend to all actions, costs, expenses, claims and demands whatsoever suffered or incurred by the person entitled to the benefit of it and Fellows declares itself to be a trustee of the benefit of every such indemnity so far as it is expressed to be for the benefit of its employees and agents. 13.3 While Fellows endeavours to ensure that the information on the Website is correct, Fellows does not warrant the accuracy and completeness of the material on the Website. Fellows may make changes to the material on the Website, or to the products and prices described in it, at any time without notice. The material on the Website may be out of date, and Fellows makes no commitment to update such material. 13.4 The material on the Website is provided "as is", without any conditions, warranties or other terms of any kind. Accordingly, to the maximum extent permitted by law, Fellows provides you with the Website on the basis that Fellows excludes all representations, warranties, conditions and other terms which, but for these Conditions, might have effect in relation to the Website. 14. General 14.1 Any notice to Fellows Buyer, Vendor, Bidder or viewer may be given by post or email. Any notice shall be deemed to have been received: (a) if sent by pre-paid post, at 9.00 am on the third Business Day after posting; or (b) if sent by email, when acknowledged by Fellows. 14.2 Any indulgence extended to any person by Fellows notwithstanding the strict terms of these Conditions shall affect the position at the relevant time only and in respect of that particular concession only; in all other respects these Conditions shall be construed as having full force and effect. 14.3 These Conditions and any disputes or claims arising out of or in connection with it or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England. 14.4 The parties irrevocably agree that the courts of England have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that arises out of or in connection with the Agreement or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims). Fellows Auctioneers Ltd Company Reg No: 09264165