Search the entire collectibles market in one place.
ALT/FNDATA Market Search gives you a single window onto more than nine million auction and marketplace records across nine asset categories, from jewelry and gemstones to classic cars, fine art, and fine wine, spanning 2005 to the present day. This guide shows you how to find what you need and turn it into an answer.
1 Getting Started
When you first open Market Search you will see a brief welcome screen with a Get Started button. Clicking it takes you to our secure sign-in page, where you can log in or create an account. If you reach Market Search from inside the ALT/FNDATA portal, you are signed in automatically and go straight to the categories.
- Click Get Started on the welcome screen.
- Sign in with your email, or register if you are new.
- You return to Market Search with access provisioned automatically. No key to copy or configure.
2 Choosing a Category
Market Search opens on a category landing page: a grid of cards, one per asset category, each showing the category name and how many lots it holds. You start by opening one category at a time. This keeps every search fast and shows you only the filters, columns, and charts that make sense for what you are looking at.
- On the landing page, click the card for the category you want.
- Market Search opens that category with its own filters, results, and (where relevant) charts.
- To switch, use the Data source selector in the sidebar, or return to the landing page to pick another card.
The nine categories
Each result card carries a thin colored bar along its top edge that tells you which category it belongs to. The colors are consistent everywhere in the app.
| Category | What it covers | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| Jewelry | Designer and signed pieces, branded collections, mounted stones | |
| Gems | Loose and certified gemstones, unmounted stones | |
| Watches | Luxury timepieces, vintage and modern | |
| Works of Art | Decorative arts, objets d'art, sculpture | |
| Handbags | Collectible handbags and accessories (Hermès, Chanel, and more) | |
| Cars | Classic and collector automobiles | |
| Motorcycles | Collector and vintage motorcycles | |
| Fine Art | Paintings, prints, photographs, drawings, sculpture | |
| Wine & Spirits | Fine wine, whisky, champagne, and other spirits |
3 Keyword Search
The search bar at the top of the results area matches your words across the fields that matter for the open category, including the item title, maker, artist, producer, vendor, model, and sale title, along with gem type, origin, and color for gem-bearing categories.
How multi-word search works
Each word is matched independently and then combined with AND logic, so every word must appear somewhere across those fields.
In Fine Art, picasso lithograph 1960 finds lots where one field contains "picasso", another "lithograph", and another "1960".
In Cars, ferrari 250 spider narrows to a make, a model line, and a body style at once.
In Wine & Spirits, macallan 1926 pairs a producer with a vintage.
Synonym expansion
For gem-bearing categories the search bar expands common terms into multilingual equivalents automatically. Searching "ruby" also matches "rubis" (French) and "rubino" (Italian), and origin names expand too, so "Burma" also finds "Myanmar". Searches are always case-insensitive. Press Enter to run a search, or click the blue Search button that appears at the lower left whenever your filters change.
4 Filters
The left sidebar holds collapsible filter groups. Open a group by clicking its header, set your values, and the choices appear as removable pill tags above the results. The key thing to know: the filters adapt to the category you are in. A handbag search never shows carats or clarity, and a wine search never shows transmission.
Filters available everywhere
| Filter | Type | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Date pickers | Narrow by sale date with a start and end date. |
| Sale Price (USD) | Range slider and text | Drag the handles or type exact values. Applies to sold lots. |
| Item Type | Multi-select | The values shown are drawn from the open category (rings and necklaces for jewelry, paintings and prints for fine art, and so on). |
| Vendor | Multi-select | Filter by auction house or marketplace. Type in the search box to find one quickly. |
| Lot Status | Multi-select | Sold, Unsold, Upcoming, or Withdrawn. Each option groups its related sub-statuses. |
Filters by category
On top of the shared filters above, each category adds its own. The lists of choices are populated from live data the first time you open a category, so they reflect what is actually in the market.
| Category | Category-specific filters |
|---|---|
| Jewelry, Gems, Watches, Works of Art | The full set of gem filters (see Refine by Gem Details), plus Designer / Brand for jewelry, watches, and works of art. |
| Handbags | Designer / Brand, Material, Item Type. |
| Cars | Make, Year, Transmission, Fuel Type. |
| Motorcycles | Make, Year, Transmission. |
| Fine Art | Artist, Medium, Art Movement, Year. |
| Wine & Spirits | Producer, Alcohol Type, Year (vintage). |
Refine by Gem Details
In the gem-bearing categories (Jewelry, Gems, Watches, Works of Art) a Refine by Gem Details button sits above the results grid. It opens a popup that gathers the stone-specific filters in one place. This button and its filters are hidden in the non-gem categories, so they never clutter a car or wine search.
| Gem filter | Example values |
|---|---|
| Primary Gem | Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Pearl, Spinel |
| Gem Types | Every stone in a lot. Multilingual, so "Ruby" also matches "Rubis" and "Rubino". |
| Gem Origin | Kashmir, Burma, Colombia, Ceylon, Mozambique, Madagascar |
| Carat Weight | 0 to 700 plus ct (slider and text) |
| Size (L by W, mm) | Minimum and maximum length and width |
| Treatment | No Heat, Heated, Oiled, Natural, Synthetic, Treated |
| Shape / Cut | Round, Oval, Cushion, Pear, Emerald, Cabochon |
| Certificate / Lab | GIA, Gubelin, SSEF, AGL, Lotus, GRS, IGI |
| Colour | Pigeon blood, Royal blue, Cornflower blue, Padparadscha |
| Gemstone Clarity | FL, IF, VVS, VS, SI, and grades in between |
| Primary Color | From image analysis, for jewelry and gems |
| Gold Karat | 8K to 24K, for jewelry and watches |
A numbered badge on the Refine button shows how many gem filters are active. Click Done to close the popup, then Search to apply.
5 Understanding Results
Every lot appears as a card in the results grid. Cards show the lot image when one is available, and a neat placeholder icon when it is not, so the layout stays even.
What each card shows
Cards adapt their tags to the category, surfacing the attributes that describe that kind of object.
| Category | Tags on the card |
|---|---|
| Jewelry, Gems | Gem type, carat, color, origin, cut, clarity, designer, item type, and certificate. |
| Watches | Designer, model, reference, year, case size and material, movement. |
| Works of Art | Artist or maker, item type, year, and any gem set. |
| Handbags | Designer, material, item type. |
| Cars, Motorcycles | Make, model, production year, transmission. |
| Fine Art | Artist, medium, item type, year. |
| Wine & Spirits | Producer, vintage, type. |
Pricing information
For sold lots, cards show up to three layers of price:
- USD price. The realized price converted to US dollars using the nearest-date exchange rate, so figures are comparable across houses and currencies.
- Local currency. The original sale figure in its own currency (for example CHF, GBP, HKD, or EUR) shown alongside.
- Price per carat. Calculated automatically for gem lots when both carat weight and USD price are present.
For unsold or withdrawn lots, the estimate range is shown instead of a realized price.
Status badges
Each card carries a status badge:
Withdrawn and passed lots are shown at reduced opacity so they stay visible without competing with realized results.
Repeat lots
In Jewelry, Gems, and Watches, some pieces come to auction more than once. When a lot has prior sales history you will see a link such as "2 prior listings" on the card. Click it to open every recorded appearance of that item, with prices and dates, which is a fast way to see how a piece has performed over time. The Repeat lots toggle in the sidebar narrows results to only those with prior history.
6 Statistics & Charts
Four summary cards sit above the results, showing headline figures for the open category:
With no filters set, the cards show precomputed totals for the category that load instantly. Once you filter, they update to describe your subset. These figures are refreshed twice a day.
Charts
For the gem-bearing categories, a set of interactive charts appears between the stats and the results, tracking average price and price-per-carat over time by gem and by origin, with every stone plotted on a scatter view. Hover a point for its details, click a legend entry to isolate a group, and use the expand icon for a fullscreen view. The charts are specific to stones, so they are not shown for cars, wine, handbags, or fine art, where they would not apply.
7 Saved Searches
Click ★ Saved Search Views in the header to open the saved searches panel.
- Set your category, filters, and search terms.
- Open the Saved Searches panel and give the search a name, such as "Kashmir sapphires over 5ct".
- Click Save to capture the current state. Click any saved view later to restore it and re-run instantly.
At the top of the panel you will find Featured Collections, curated views maintained by ALT/FNDATA, such as the Top 50 World Records. Featured Collections are available to everyone and cannot be deleted.
8 Sorting & Views
Use the sort dropdown above the grid to reorder results:
| Sort option | Description |
|---|---|
| Most recent | Newest sale date first (default) |
| Oldest first | Earliest sale date first |
| Highest price | Most expensive first (USD) |
| Lowest price | Least expensive first (USD) |
| Largest carat | Highest carat weight first (gem categories only) |
Results load automatically as you scroll, so there is no next-page button to click.
9 Settings
Open the gear menu in the header for account details and preferences, including your profile and the option to switch between light and dark themes. Your theme choice is remembered between visits.
10 Getting the Most Out of It
Market Search is built to answer real questions quickly. Here are a few common workflows.
Price and appraise an item
Open the item's category, search its maker and model or gem and weight, set Lot Status to Sold, and sort by Most recent. The USD prices and price-per-carat give you an evidence base in seconds.
Find comparables
Narrow with the category filters (make and year, artist and medium, producer and vintage, or gem, origin, and carat) to build a tight set of like-for-like lots, then save it as a view to revisit.
Track a market over time
In a gem category, use the trend and scatter charts to see how price-per-carat has moved by gem and origin. In any category, filter to a segment and read the summary cards for its total value and average.
Research provenance
For jewelry, gems, and watches, open a lot's prior listings to trace every time it has come to auction, with dates and prices, and see how the piece has held or grown in value.
11 Tips & Shortcuts
| Tip | Details |
|---|---|
| Enter to search | Press Enter in the search bar to run a search without reaching for the button. |
| Remove one filter | Click the × on any active filter tag above the results to clear just that one. |
| Switch category | Use the Data source selector in the sidebar, or return to the landing page to pick another card. |
| Search within a dropdown | The multi-select dropdowns have a search box at the top. Type to filter a long list. |
| Fullscreen charts | In gem categories, click the expand icon on a chart for a larger view. |
| Open the original listing | Click the listing link on any card to open the lot's source page in a new tab. |
| Data freshness | Results refresh regularly, and the counts and summary figures are updated twice a day. |
| Guided tour | Click Replay Tour in the header for a step-by-step walkthrough. |
If you have questions or run into anything unexpected, reach the ALT/FNDATA team at info@altfndata.com.