Methodology
How antique value is estimated from a photo
A valuation is only as good as the evidence under it. This page explains what a RelicLens report is built from and what each of its numbers means.
Last reviewed 7 September 2026
What happens to a photograph
One photograph goes in per report. Before anything is transmitted, the app separates the object from its background on the device itself and produces a cut-out. That cut-out is what gets analyzed, not the original frame, so the room behind the object does not travel with it.
The analysis itself runs on a server, which is why identification needs a connection. It receives the cut-out along with the device language and currency so the report comes back in units you can read. It does not receive your name, an account, a location, or the collector profile you filled in when you first opened the app.
What the reference value means
A report gives one figure, called the reference value, with a low and a high estimate printed either side of it on a gauge. Read the reference value as the middle of a defensible range for a piece of that description in that apparent condition, and read the two ends as the span the evidence actually supports.
The number is not a valuation of your specific object. It is a valuation of the object the photograph appears to show. Those diverge whenever the photograph omits something that matters, which is more often than most people expect.
Where the comparable listings come from
Each report includes listings for similar pieces, with the asking price and the marketplace each came from, and each one opens in your browser. This is the part of the report to check first. An estimate you can trace to specific listings is a different kind of claim from a number that appears on its own.
When you open them, compare three things: whether the form really matches, whether the described condition matches, and whether the listing is current. A close match in poor condition and a close match in excellent condition can differ by an order of magnitude, and that difference is what the low and high estimate are trying to express.
Rarity and condition
Rarity is graded on five levels, from common to exceptional, and the report writes out the reasoning rather than only showing the label. Condition is graded on five levels, from poor to excellent.
These two move a price more than anything else, which is why they are shown next to the value rather than buried. They are also the two most sensitive to photograph quality. A grade is a reading of the surfaces you photographed.
How to photograph a piece for the sharpest estimate
- Fill the frame with the object, on a plain surface.
- Use daylight from the side rather than overhead light, so form and surface texture stay visible.
- Photograph the most distinctive view, which is usually the profile that shows the silhouette and the decoration together.
- Put a coin or a ruler in the frame when scale is not obvious.
- Include any damage in the frame, so the condition grade reflects the piece you actually have.
Questions about the method
What does the reference value represent?
The middle of a defensible range for a piece of that description in that apparent condition. The low and high estimates printed either side of it show the span the comparable listings actually support, so you can see both the figure and the confidence the market places in it.
Why is the range sometimes wide?
Because the market itself is spread. A form produced across a long period, or one where condition drives the price hard, genuinely trades across a range, and showing that is more useful than picking a single number and hiding the spread. A wide range is a signal to read the comparables closely.
Are the comparable prices asking prices or sold prices?
They are live listings, so read them as asking prices unless a listing says otherwise. That is useful in its own right, because it shows you what comparable pieces are being offered at right now, and it is the same evidence a dealer would check before making you an offer.
How is condition assessed?
Every report carries a condition grade on a five-level scale from poor to excellent, read from the surfaces in your photograph. Photographing the piece from its most revealing angle, including any wear, gives the grade the most to work with.
What makes an estimate trustworthy?
Evidence you can open. A figure on its own cannot be checked by anyone. RelicLens attaches the comparable listings to every report and links them out to the marketplace, so the reasoning behind the range is in your hands rather than locked in a black box.
Which categories does it handle best?
Pieces with distinctive form and decoration read especially well: ceramics and porcelain, glass, silver and metalwork, furniture, jewelry, sculpture and decorative objects. Period, origin and materials come back as free text, so an unusual piece is described rather than forced into a box.
See a report for yourself
One full report is included, so you can judge the method against something you already own and know the story of.
Download on the App Store