Sometimes the value of an object has nothing to do with its price.
FAMILY COLLECTION — NOT FOR SALE
Some hunts begin with a valuable antique.
This one didn't.
It began with a wedding.
Many years ago, my grandfather was given a simple gentleman's set by his father on his wedding day — a pair of cufflinks and a matching tie clip, kept together in its small blue presentation case.
In monetary terms, it is not an extraordinary object. There is no famous maker's name that transforms it into a collector's treasure, and its value on the open market would probably be modest.
But that was never the value I was looking for.
Years later, when my own son was preparing to get married, I remembered the set.
I wanted to find it.
Not something similar.
Not a better one.
Not a more expensive one.
That one.
The set that had been given from father to son on a wedding day in our family.
So the hunt began.
Eventually, I found it.
The little blue box was worn. The lettering inside had faded with age. The cufflinks and tie clip showed the marks expected from something that had survived decades rather than spent its life as a museum piece.
None of that mattered.
Wanneer dit in is, sê net “in”. Dan plaas ons die volgende detailfoto op presies die regte plek.
On my son's wedding day, I opened that same box again.
And shortly before he was married, I stood in front of him and fastened the same tie clip onto his tie.
For a few seconds, generations of our family were connected by a small piece of metal.
Not because it was rare.
Not because it was expensive.
Because it was ours.
WHY THIS HUNT MATTERS
At Antique Hunter, we hunt antiques, collectables and unusual objects.
But value cannot always be measured in Rands, Pounds or Dollars.
Sometimes somebody may ask us to find a rare silver piece worth thousands.
Someone else may be searching for an old toy their father gave them when they were six. A particular cup that stood in their grandmother's kitchen. A pocket knife like the one their grandfather carried.
Or a simple pair of cufflinks that once belonged to someone they loved.
To the market, such an object may be worth very little.
To the person searching for it, there may be no substitute.
That is why we hunt the story as much as we hunt the object.
The hunt ended where the story began — with a father, a son, and a wedding.