We ship worldwide from Knutsford, Cheshire, in the United Kingdom. Our customers are in six countries and we have been exporting since 2020. This page sets out exactly what it costs, how long it takes, and what you are responsible for at your end.
What it costs
| Cost | Carrier | Typical time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| International | £75 flat, plus 2.5% of the invoice value | FedEx, fully insured, signature required | 10–14 working days |
| United Kingdom | £25 flat; plus 2.5% of invoice value on orders over £5,000 | Royal Mail Special Delivery, fully insured | 1–10 working days |
Every parcel is fully insured for the full value and requires a signature. Packaging is secure and discreet — the contents are not shown on the outside. We cannot deliver to a PO box or leave a parcel in a safe place.
Duty, tax and clearance — read this before you order
You are the importer. Any import duty, customs charge, sales tax, VAT or clearance fee levied by your country is payable by you, on top of the price and our shipping charge. We cannot tell you what those will be — rates vary by country, by material and by declared value. Check with your local customs authority before you order.
We declare goods at full value. We will not under-declare a shipment, mark it as a gift, or falsify customs paperwork, and we will decline any request to do so. Asking us to is asking us to commit an offence in two jurisdictions, and it voids the insurance that protects your purchase in transit.
If a shipment is refused or abandoned because import charges were not paid or clearance was not completed, we may deduct our outbound carriage, return carriage and any charges levied on us from a refund. This is clause 13.5 of our terms.
Restricted materials
Some materials are restricted under CITES and equivalent national legislation — certain exotic leathers, ivory and coral among them. Where a piece is affected, the listing says so. It is your responsibility to satisfy yourself that an item may lawfully be imported into your country before you order. This matters most on handbags: some vintage exotic-skin pieces cannot lawfully cross certain borders regardless of who is selling them.
VAT
Prices on this site include UK VAT where VAT is chargeable. A number of our pre-owned pieces are sold under the VAT margin scheme for second-hand goods, in which case VAT is not shown separately and is not recoverable by you. Where a piece is sold under the margin scheme, the listing says so.
VAT treatment on export depends on the specific piece and your destination. Ask us before you order and we will tell you how your piece is treated — do not assume.
Your rights buying from the UK
You get the same protection as a UK buyer.
- 14 days to cancel from delivery, without giving a reason, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. You bear the return shipping and it must come back fully insured.
- 12-month warranty on the movement of watches, where the piece has not been opened, modified or damaged.
- Certificate of Authenticity with every piece, and a written condition report before you buy.
- English law governs the contract, but if you contract as a consumer you keep the mandatory protections of your own country’s law and your right to bring proceedings there where that right cannot be excluded. That is clause 21.2 of our terms.
Paying from overseas
We accept payment only from an account or card in your own name — third-party payments are returned. For higher-value pieces we may ask for bank transfer rather than card, and may ask the transfer to clear before despatch. We will always confirm our bank details to you by telephone as well as in writing. We will never email you to say our bank details have changed. If you receive such an email it is not from us — telephone us before sending any money.
We may also ask for identity and address documents, and for evidence of source of funds. We are an art market participant under the UK money laundering regulations and these checks are a legal obligation, not a formality.
Check us before you send money abroad
You are buying from a company in another country. Verify it.
- CHRONO6538 LTD, registered in England and Wales, company number 12844120, incorporated 28 August 2020. Look it up at Companies House — it is free and public.
- VAT registration GB495892911.
- Registered office: Booths Hall, Booths Park, Chelford Road, Knutsford, WA16 8GS, United Kingdom.
- Verify us · Customer testimonials from buyers across six countries.
Questions before you order?
Email sales@chrono6538.com with the piece and your country. We will tell you the total landed cost as far as we can calculate it, the VAT treatment, and whether there is any import restriction we are aware of.
CHRONO6538 LTD · Company number 12844120 · VAT GB495892911 · Booths Hall, Booths Park, Chelford Road, Knutsford, WA16 8GS