An Invaluable Tool for Tracing Treasures

In the thirteen years since it was founded, Invaluable has grown from a one man business above a boat yard in Cowes to a company with an international client base that includes Manchester United and the Museum of Science, as well as Interpol and the FBI. It boasts Princes, Maharajas and Members of Parliament amongst its customers.

Invaluable was the first company dedicated to providing impartial electronic information on antiques, fine art and premium collectables to dealers, private buyers, museums and other institutions. It also offers the means to protect and recover them should they ever be stolen. It does this by utilising two of the world's largest electronic databases of art, antiques and collectables.

Every year more than 9,000 catalogues from auction houses around the world are processed and the information matched against the specific search criteria of their subscribers, by post, fax or email. In 2001 that amounted to details on 3,586,121 individual lots being sent out. All this information is also available for searching on Invaluable's website.

Vampire Killing Kits

The service is well known in the industry for its success in advising its subscribers of arts and antiques that are coming up for sale, however, it also aims to provide assistance to those collecting items in a far broader range of subjects. One recent subscriber was looking for 'Victorian Vampire Killing Kits', apparently an essential piece of luggage for any traveller in the late Nineteenth century. Other slightly less macabre interests include Victorian nightdresses, buttons and riding whips. No matter what the item, there will be someone collecting, and Invaluable can tell them where to find it.

Every catalogue is also screened against the Active Crime Tracking System Database, run by their sister company Trace. This contains details of around 110,000 stolen items. Over the last ten years this has resulted in more than 4,000 items worth £65 million being recovered. It is used on a daily basis by UK constabularies and law enforcement agencies worldwide, while members of the team are regularly invited into police seized property stores to try and identify their true owners. A key part of the identification process is through the Trace Magazine. It is a unique monthly magazine which features details of the stolen items and is distributed to the police, auction houses, dealers, museums and loss adjusters though out 170 countries.

One recent success was for forces sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn, who suffered a burglary back in 1999. Jim Hill, Trace's police liaison officer, was asked to accompany officers on a raid on a premises in Hertfordshire. Jim was able to identify several items as being stolen from several different thefts including a painting by Ernest Walbourn belonging to the entertainer.

Though its accounts and web design teams may now be based in London, many of the staff originated from their offices on the Island, where over 40 employees are still based at Mill Court in Newport. Due to the demand for its services Invaluable may soon be forced to move to larger premises; however they have no intentions of leaving the Isle of Wight or its local workforce, several of whom have been with them for over ten years.

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