Responsibility
Responsibility, without the brochure
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Passion Asset Advisory provides collector-watch brokerage and valuation under written terms. Our guides also cover other asset types, but they do not confirm active services for them. Any wider work needs separate acceptance. We work alongside your financial, legal and tax advisers, not in their place.
What does responsibility mean for a brokerage?
These policies guide which mandates we accept and when we pause or decline work. Provenance is an asset's documented history. Know-your-customer (KYC) checks identify the parties to a transaction. The table sets out the required checks, records and responsibilities.
| Area | The policy | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| Art provenance | No works with unresolved title, looting, or restitution exposure | Provenance research before any offer; gaps surfaced, not papered over |
| Exotic materials | CITES documentation or no mandate | Croc, alligator, lizard pieces verified to their certificates; reconstruction coordinated where legitimate |
| Clean money | KYC, sanctions screening, source-of-funds inquiry | Traceable banking and escrow only; cash is declined, always |
| Counterparties | Both sides screened, not just ours | A qualified buyer is also a screened buyer |
| Circularity | Pre-owned first, honestly compared | The brokerage market extends asset lives; we say so when pre-owned beats new-build |
| Craft | Respect for the hands that make these objects | Authentication standards that protect craftsmanship's value against counterfeits |
These policies describe our current practice. We do not claim certifications that we have not earned or advertise donations that we have not made.
Why is provenance ethics the core of it?
Looted art, undocumented exotic materials, stolen watches and aircraft with unclear ownership can appear on the market. Our checks protect clients and keep the office out of these trades. A serious gap in an asset's history, or provenance, can be enough for us to decline a transaction.
How is discretion different from opacity?
Client privacy does not remove the need for transaction checks. These include identity checks, sanctions screening and source-of-funds questions suited to the transaction. Payments use traceable banking and escrow. Confirm who needs each record and why before sharing it. If essential checks cannot be completed, the transaction must not proceed.
Why is pre-owned the sustainable choice?
Our most practical environmental contribution is to help the pre-owned market work well. A documented pre-owned aircraft can delay a new build. An authenticated vintage watch can outlast a fashion cycle. Finding a buyer for an estate collection avoids disposal. We often advise clients to choose pre-owned assets even when a new purchase could earn us more in the short term.
Karlín, our corner of it
The office is in Main Point Karlín, a building with river-water cooling and extensive natural light. The surrounding district was rebuilt after the 2002 floods. We chose this location deliberately. As the firm grows, we will make community commitments in Prague first and publish them only after they are active.
Frequently asked questions
Will Passion Asset Advisory handle undocumented exotic leathers?
No. We require the relevant CITES wildlife-trade documents for exotic leathers such as crocodile, alligator and lizard. This applies to buyer-side acquisitions, seller-side consignments and advisory valuations. If the issuing authority can lawfully reconstruct the documents, we can coordinate that process.
What anti-money-laundering practices does the office apply?
We identify the client when work starts, check the parties against sanctions lists and ask where the funds come from, based on the transaction risk. Payments must use traceable banking or escrow, never cash. We decline a mandate if standard compliance questions cannot be answered. Client privacy does not remove these checks.
What does corporate responsibility mean for a private brokerage?
It means applying clear rules to every mandate. We refuse art with unresolved provenance and exotic-leather items without CITES documents. We check the parties against sanctions lists and ask where the funds come from, even if this costs us the work. We also support a reliable pre-owned market that keeps rare assets in use.
Where is the office based?
In Main Point Karlín (Karlín's award-winning business centre) at Pobřežní 620/3, Prague 8, ten minutes from Prague's old town. Meetings are by appointment, in Prague or wherever the asset and the client are; mandates are executed worldwide under the same confidentiality discipline.
Responsibility
The mandates we decline are part of the service.
If your asset can pass the usual checks, contact the office with your questions. Almost all legitimate mandates can meet this standard.