London, Geneva, Brussels, Milan, Madrid: the house buys fine jewellery, diamonds and precious stones from sellers across Europe — a first opinion on photographs within 24 hours, a firm offer, payment by bank transfer the day the piece is examined. In London, the house receives by appointment at 100 Hatton Garden; elsewhere in Europe, it travels for a significant piece.
Altmann Collection is a dealer at 22 rue Drouot, Paris, a few steps from the Hôtel Drouot auction house. The house buys for its own account — no consignment, no auction, no intermediary — and places what it buys with collectors and the trade, in France and abroad. The pieces it acquires are neither displayed nor put online: they leave the shop discreetly, for another life. What the trade has always done among itself — examine, value, buy outright and pay — the house does openly, for private owners, with the figures on the table. Ariel Altmann, who runs the house, is a trained gemmologist and a member of the Syndicat des Négociants en Art (SNA), the French art dealers' association founded in 1905.
From the first message to the transfer, you deal with the same person — the one who examines, decides and pays.
By WhatsApp or e-mail, in English or French: the whole piece in daylight, the signature and the hallmarks, and any documents — certificate, invoice, earlier valuation, auction catalogue entry. Within 24 hours you receive a frank first opinion: what the piece is, and whether it justifies a meeting.
In Paris, at 22 rue Drouot, by appointment — London is about 2 h 20 away by Eurostar, Brussels about 1 h 25, Geneva about 3 h 15 by train, Milan and Madrid about two hours by air. In London, the house also receives by appointment at its office, 100 Hatton Garden; elsewhere in Europe, for a significant piece, it comes to you. The piece is examined in front of you; it never leaves your sight.
Based on the piece itself — signature, period, stones, condition — and on the international market of the day. The offer is explained line by line. It commits you to nothing, and we encourage you to compare it.
Once agreed, payment is made by bank transfer, in euros, whatever the amount — French law does not allow cash for this trade. The sum offered is the sum received: no commission, no fees, no waiting for a sale date. You leave with a dated purchase document.
Your photographs are neither published nor passed on. Remote appraisal, in detail · Where to sell jewellery in Paris
London is two hours twenty from Paris — and the house also receives in London. Here is how it works from London, or from anywhere in Britain.
The house receives in London by appointment at its office, 100 Hatton Garden, EC1N 8NX, in the heart of the jewellery quarter — Chancery Lane and Farringdon stations are a few minutes' walk. Important pieces only; the first opinion is given on photographs, and the appointment is fixed around the house's visits. The house in London.
Or Eurostar from St Pancras to Gare du Nord in about 2 h 20; rue Drouot is ten minutes from the station by taxi. A morning train, an appointment at noon, the afternoon train home — the transfer already on its way.
Cartier opened in London in 1902 and settled at 175 New Bond Street in 1909; from 1921 its own London workshop, English Art Works, made the bracelets, clips and brooches now signed “Cartier London”. British platinum jewellery of the period is often unmarked — platinum was not hallmarked in the United Kingdom before 1975 — which is why it is read by its workmanship, not its stamps. The house buys these pieces and knows them well.
A London seller usually weighs the sale rooms against the trade. A Paris dealer is a third route: a firm figure the same day, paid by transfer, no premium or commission, and a piece that is never catalogued or photographed. Take the auction estimate, then ask us; we encourage the comparison.
The same four steps, the same person. The appointment is arranged around your train or your flight, or the house comes to you for a significant piece.
Geneva to Paris Gare de Lyon in about 3 h 15 by TGV, Zurich in about four hours. Geneva hosts the great jewellery sales each May and November; the house follows their results and reads a piece at the same level, without the room. Sellers from Switzerland are among the house's clients.
Brussels-Midi to Gare du Nord in about 1 h 25, Antwerp in about two hours. For diamonds — loose, certified or mounted — the house speaks Antwerp's language: it is a diamond dealer itself, and buys old cuts and modern cuts alike.
Milan or Rome to Paris in about two hours by air. Italian signed jewellery is sought after: Bulgari — Serpenti, Tubogas, the Roman pieces of the 1960s to 1980s — Buccellati and its lacework in gold, and the great Milanese and Roman workshops. The house buys them, period and recent.
Madrid or Barcelona to Paris in about two hours by air; Barcelona also by direct train, in about 6 h 40. Signed pieces, diamonds, family jewellery: the first exchange in English or French, by WhatsApp, then the appointment fixed around your times.
English and French, from the first message to the purchase document. A photograph needs no translation.
No consignment, no transport to organise, no catalogue to approve. Photographs, a meeting, a figure, a transfer — and the piece goes on to another life, often in another country.
Selling by private treaty to a dealer, compared with consigning a piece to a sale room.
A firm figure, accepted or declined on the day — not an estimate, a reserve and a result known months later.
At auction, the buyer's premium (20–30 % incl. tax) and the seller's commission (10–25 %) combine: the buyer commonly pays 40–50 % more than the seller receives. Here the offer is net.
Days rather than months: no wait for the right sale, no settlement period of 30 to 60 days after the hammer.
No catalogue, no photograph, no published price. The house does not show what it buys. Your name, your piece and the figure remain between you and us.
A piece that has never been offered publicly is what collectors prize; an unsold lot is public, and the market remembers it. Sold privately, first hand, the piece keeps its pedigree — and its value.
The house buys at the great sales and knows their results. It can tell you on the day what a piece would be expected to make, and offer accordingly — directly, without the room. For some pieces the sale room makes sense, and we say so.
The private route is for pieces whose value lies in the jewellery itself. For a simple piece, a jeweller near you will do.
Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Boucheron, Bulgari, Buccellati, Tiffany, Harry Winston and the great houses — Art Deco, 1950s, 1970s; Cartier London pieces included. See Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels.
Solitaires and old cuts — cushion, old European, Asscher — of two carats and more, with or without a GIA certificate. Sell a diamond.
Kashmir, Burma, Colombia and every origin the great sales are made of, with or without a laboratory report (SSEF, Gübelin, GRS, AGL, GIA, LFG). Rubies, sapphires, emeralds.
Strands and mounted natural pearls — not cultured — with or without an LFG report.
Inherited collections, divisions between heirs, family cases: inventory piece by piece, bought as a whole or one by one. Estate jewellery.
Jewels bought at auction years ago, pieces from a family or from a collection: the pedigree counts, and we read it before we read the price.
Yes. The house buys from sellers who live in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Spain and elsewhere in Europe, in English or in French. The first opinion is given on photographs within 24 hours; the purchase itself takes place at a meeting, in Paris, in London at 100 Hatton Garden, or — for a significant piece — where you are.
Yes. The house receives in London by appointment at its office, 100 Hatton Garden, EC1N 8NX, in the jewellery quarter — important pieces only, the appointment fixed around the house's visits. Elsewhere in Europe — Geneva, Brussels, Milan, Madrid — the house comes to you for a significant piece, once the first opinion has been given on photographs. For other pieces, the appointment is in Paris, at 22 rue Drouot, two hours twenty from St Pancras.
No, and we advise against it. A piece is examined in person, in front of you, and nothing leaves your sight. If a piece has to travel, the house uses insured specialist carriers and takes care of the formalities.
By bank transfer to an account in your name, in euros, the day the agreement is reached, whatever the amount. French law does not allow cash for this trade. Nothing is deducted: the sum offered is the sum received.
A passport or identity card: French law requires a dealer to record every purchase and the identity of the seller. Then whatever you have on the piece — certificate, invoice, earlier valuation, auction catalogue entry, box. None of these is essential, except your identity document.
A dated purchase document stating the piece and the price, for your own records and your adviser. Tax treatment depends on your country of residence — a UK resident, for instance, may have capital gains tax to consider on a piece sold for more than £6,000. The house does not give tax advice.
An estimate is not a price: the result depends on the room, the reserve and the day, and it is known months later, less fees. A dealer's offer is a figure you can accept today. Compare the two — we encourage it — and for some pieces we will tell you ourselves that the sale room makes sense.
Entirely. No catalogue, no photograph, no published price; the house does not display what it buys. Your name and your piece stay between you and us.
Signed period jewellery, diamonds of two carats and more, stones of provenance, natural pearls, collections and estates. For a simple piece, a jeweller near you will do.
Not for a British piece: platinum was not hallmarked in the United Kingdom before 1975, so an unmarked platinum bracelet or clip from the 1920s is usual, not a fault. The piece is read by its workmanship, its stones and, when it has one, its signature.
English and French. Write to us in either, by WhatsApp or e-mail; the appointment is held in the language you prefer.
In Paris, 22 rue Drouot, 75009, a few steps from the Hôtel Drouot auction house — ten minutes by taxi from Gare du Nord (Eurostar from London and Brussels) and fifteen from Gare de Lyon (trains from Geneva, Milan and Barcelona); by appointment, Monday to Thursday 10 am to 7 pm, Friday 10 am to 3 pm. In London, 100 Hatton Garden, EC1N 8NX, by appointment only.
Verifiable facts, reviewed in October 2026. For a specific case, the appointment settles the matter.
French law requires a dealer in precious objects to record each purchase and the identity of the seller. Bring a passport or identity card: it protects you as much as us.
A seller is paid by bank transfer or cheque: French law does not allow cash for this trade. Expect a dated purchase document, and nothing deducted from the figure agreed.
In the trade, a piece that has never been offered publicly is said to be “fresh to the market”. Collectors prize it; an unsold lot, by contrast, is remembered. That is why a piece brought first hand is paid more than the same piece bought in the room.
Complimentary and confidential first opinion within 24 hours, in English or French.
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