Gemsmakers · Catalog quality desk

Antique Catalog Claim Evidence Checker

Audit each important sentence in a listing, inventory, or collection record against the evidence you actually hold. Keep the wording, source, evidence excerpt, and review status together so unsupported certainty does not slip into a polished description. This tool does not authenticate objects or determine legal title.

Claim-by-claim reviewSource quality promptsCopyable evidence matrix

Listing context

Object or listing IDReview dateIntended useReviewer

Scope: assess whether the record supports the exact wording, not whether the object is “genuine.” An invoice can prove a transaction occurred without proving a historical attribution; a photograph can show a visible feature without proving its date.

Claims and evidence

Add one claim per row. Use short, testable statements. Keep the exact source and relevant excerpt; when a source is silent, mark that gap rather than treating silence as disproof.

Review rule and next actions

Review standardEscalation ownerActions before publication or transferReviewer notes

Use a source hierarchy thoughtfully

Direct primary record: dated invoice, accession record, maker’s documented ledger, or original photograph. It supports only what it explicitly records.
Independent reference: published catalog, scholarly article, archive record, or specialist report. Capture author, date, page/record, and scope.
Seller or prior catalog: useful leads and transaction history, but label the source and seek independent corroboration for consequential claims.
Visual observation: useful for visible features; it rarely establishes age, maker, originality, or provenance by itself.

“Not supported by this source” means the cited evidence does not establish the wording. It does not automatically mean the claim is false.

Claims worth splitting

Break bundled language into one claim at a time:

“Made in 1880 by X” becomes maker claim + date claim.
“Original untouched finish” becomes finish identification + originality + intervention history.
“From the Y family collection” becomes each ownership period and its source.
“Rare / unique / first” becomes the comparison set and search method supporting the superlative.

Evidence review FAQ

What do the statuses mean?

They are reviewer-entered labels for the source you provide: directly supported, partly supported, not supported by the cited evidence, conflicts with the cited evidence, or not yet reviewed. They are not an authenticity verdict.

Should I mark a claim contradicted if a source does not mention it?

No. Silence is usually a gap, not a contradiction. Reserve “conflicts” for evidence that directly disagrees with the claim.

Where are claims stored?

The checker runs in your browser. It does not send entries to a server or external API; export the record if it needs to be retained.

Antique Catalog Claim Evidence Checker

Listing context

Claims and evidence

Review rule and next actions

Evidence review matrix

Copy-ready review record