Zhu Weisha January 9, 2026
I. The Cornerstone of Capital Markets: Certainty and Accountability
The core of financial markets lies in certainty of judgment and accountability constraints. Taking the stock market as an example, corporate valuation is divided into tangible aspects (profits and financial statements) and predictive aspects (future profitability). The tangible aspects rely on independent third-party audits, where accountants bear strict, even unlimited, liability for the authenticity of the statements. This forms the bedrock of market trust—the Enron scandal, which led to the collapse of Arthur Andersen, stands as ironclad evidence of this accountability mechanism. Lawyers and sponsors also provide similar credit-enhancing functions.
The essence is that professional judgment must be accompanied by accountability. Analysts provide predictions without bearing responsibility, serving only in an auxiliary role, while accountants, constrained by liability, act as pillars of the market.
In contrast, the field of antique appraisal has long relied on expert “visual authentication” or “connoisseurship.” Experts merely offer opinions without assuming any legal or economic responsibility, leaving all risks to the buyer. This places experts in the role of analysts rather than accountants. The lack of an accountability mechanism leads to strong subjectivity and frequent disputes. The global annual transaction volume of the art and antiques market is approximately tens of billions of US dollars, far below the daily trading scale of the stock market. This reflects a deficiency in credit mechanisms. Antiques, bearing the crystallized wealth of generations, possess a potential aggregate value that should not be inferior to the value of the stock market, which merely reflects contemporary corporate worth. However, traditional appraisal approaches severely constrain their financialization.
Even the visual authentication by top-tier experts is prone to errors, much like Traditional Chinese Medicine’s “inspection, listening and smelling, inquiry, and palpation,” which requires the assistance of modern instruments (such as CT scans and ultrasound). Relying solely on visual authentication lacks objectivity and is insufficient to support large-scale financial transactions. The future direction should be: scientific instrumentation as the dominant method, supplemented by expert visual authentication, to establish objective and verifiable standards.
II. The Role, Limitations, and Emerging Potential of Scientific Instruments
1. Complementary Roles of Instruments and Visual Authentication
Scientific instruments can determine the “basic value” of antiques – that is, the value associated with items of the same type from the same period. Expert visual authentication then adds the “value-added” component, such as cultural significance, artistic heritage, and rarity. (For details, refer to Redefining the Valuation Metrics for Antiques)
2. Limitations of Traditional Detection Technologies
Mainstream methods such as thermoluminescence (TL) and carbon-14 dating, while authoritative, have significant flaws. They rely on ideal physical assumptions, and the complex history of cultural relics often leads to considerable errors. These methods are cumbersome to operate, partially destructive, and their interpretation heavily depends on experience, resulting in insufficient objectivity and scalability.
Relying on existing technologies makes it difficult to achieve standardized, large-scale appraisal. The core of cultural relic authentication is “dating“—resolving the age issue addresses most authenticity problems. The industry urgently needs a universal, non-destructive, rapid, simple, and low-cost device to activate dormant assets and promote rational price return to rationality.
3. Practical Potential of the QRS Quantum Resonance Spectrometer
The QRS Quantum Resonance Spectrometer originates from the principles of quantum medicine and was initially used for health detection and physiological age assessment. Civil practice indicates its potential for non-destructive and rapid dating of cultural relics. According to data from practitioner Huang Weigang, based on over 20,000 test cases, the conformity rate exceeds 95%.
In 2015, Mr. Lei Congyun, former Director of the China Cultural Relics Exchange Center and Executive Director of the China Association of Collectors, noted after an inspection: Quantum dating technology has broad-spectrum applicability, and its detection results can be precise to the specific year, fundamentally solving the challenges of dating and authenticity verification for cultural relics and artworks. Compared to the “fifteen-expert visual appraisal, one-vote veto” mechanism once advocated by administrative departments, this undoubtedly represents a profound technological revolution and should be vigorously promoted in all fields requiring dating.
The advantages of the QRS Quantum Resonance Spectrometer lie in its ability to perform efficient dating without relying on large databases, extracting only the key features of the object. However, the theoretical explanation for this technology remains insufficient, and equipment operation requires further standardization, akin to Traditional Chinese Medicine being “effective in practice but lacking sufficient medical theoretical empirical support.”
4. Issues and Development Directions
Emerging technologies should not be dismissed due to current limitations. Instead, scientific research and development should be strengthened to improve consistency and ease of operation. The correct path is to promote the integration of improved instrumentation with visual authentication, supported by credit endorsement from independent third parties. Since instruments are not 100% accurate, the risk conversion mechanisms of financial markets can be referenced to construct a foundation of trust.
III. Insurance Mechanisms: Building Market Credit Pillars
The key to the financialization of antiques lies in ensuring buyers acquire genuine items. Even if instrument accuracy reaches over 95%, the remaining margin of error must be addressed. Probabilistic risk is most suitable for insurance companies to undertake—by offering “Authenticity Guarantee Insurance” that promises compensation and replacement, transforming uncertainty into a priced financial product.
Insurance companies can play the role of “accountants” in the antiques market, assuming responsibility with their capital and credit, significantly lowering transaction barriers. In the past, the era of pure visual authentication made it difficult for insurers to intervene. Now, instrumental assistance has significantly reduced risks, and civil practice has verified its feasibility.
Expert judgment and archaeology remain indispensable for handling instrument errors, authorship attribution, and novel artifacts. AI can assist in routine scenarios, but edge cases require professional expertise.
Conclusion
The conditions for technological advancement, civil practice, and institutional innovation are gradually maturing. Only by thoroughly resolving the two major challenges of authentication and compensation guarantee can the financialization of antiques shift into the fast lane, propelling the market toward standardization, scale, and sustainable development.
