Marks and Signatures

Determining the maker of the antique item by looking for a mark or signature on it is the first step if you intend to know its value. On pieces of jewelry, marks are usually small and hidden; marks on glassware are not as common as they are on porcelain and pottery. Usually, marks on pottery and porcelain are located at the bottom of the item.

Through marks and signatures, information about the maker and its origin will come to you easily; you have to learn how to identify and locate them.

Antique Furniture

When it comes to antiques, furniture is not a stranger. Different styles, artisans, and other technicalities are just some of the things that you have to know for you to learn about the item. One of the first things to take note when it comes to identifying and antique furniture is to look at its style or period. From Chippendales, Queen Annes, and Eastlake is just some of the most famous styles that stem from different eras or periods.

When it comes to modern furniture, pieces usually derive their value according to their designers or makers. Big names in the industry create items that are collectibles, and most of them come in a unique design or make.

Reproductions

Knowing and having the eye to distinguish genuine antiques from reproductions is probably one of the easiest and most helpful skills that you should have for you, and when you’re hugely fond of collecting antique items, you’ll realize that such skill comes highly handy.

Authenticity

There are various methods and ways that can help you test your pieces and items to check for their authenticity. Usually, having a black light can be very convenient for you to test almost every antique item.

Have a Good Guide

Being equipped with sufficient and supplementary knowledge about antiques can give you an edge among other people. To do this, you have to make yourself get familiar and well-learned about them by reading books that offer good input and foundation about them.

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Document Provenance

If you’re able to provide proof that an influential or famous person once owned the piece that you own, or if it has a historical value, you can significantly add value to your item. By having documentation of provenance, your chances of increasing the object’s monetary value and significance.

You can document provenance by keeping the original receipts that show the names involved in the transaction or by photographs and notes that are passed on from previous owners.

Research

One of the best parts when it comes to finding and purchasing collectible is when you learn a lot of things about them. Facts about your items can add to the value as well. However, it’s essential that you should still be critical about the facts that you attach to your pieces. Valuable information about marks and signatures on your antiques should be legitimate and valid. The style or period where it was made can also add value to it.

Authentication

After the necessary research that you have done, you can also still increase the value of your item by having it authenticated by an expert. This way, you can also put it in an auction since it would then be legitimate. Having a certificate or an authentication letter from a professional in the related field can turn your collectibles garner a higher value especially when people are critical about the items that they intend to buy.

Appraisal

Usually, authentication is already done in the appraisal process, but that’s not always the case. A lot of appraisers dig values on pieces by researching on them. With this, it’s important to know what your appraiser requires in their documentation. Moreover, there’s a difference between a verbal estimation of value and a written appraisal; the latter is the legitimate way of knowing the cost since it’s a well-documented.

Care and Storage

Naturally, having proper storage and care significantly adds and retains the value of your items since people usually want to purchase things that are in good condition and well-maintained. Doing this means that there are a lot of things that you should and shouldn’t do to your pieces, it just takes a lot of research in knowing what they are.

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Drafty Doors and Windows

Be sure that the weatherstripping placed on your doors and windows are secure not to let the cold winter breeze creep inside the spaces of your home. You can also install draft stoppers and caulk your windows to prepare yourself from the weather further.

Change Your Ceiling Fan Blades

For you to further warm yourself and the spaces in your home, you can try switching your fan blades to run clockwise to drive the cold air away and push warmer air around. This way, you can save a lot of money on your bill.

A  Programmable Thermostat

At times when you’re away from your home, and your furnace is operating at optimum temperatures, you’re wasting a considerable amount of money since it’s useless. However, with a programmable thermostat, you can decrease the temperature even if you’re at work, and have it warm your place again at your desired schedule, making you save a lot of money.

Smoke and C02 Detectors

Make sure that you double check that the batteries and maintenance in your smoke and CO2 detectors. This way, you can make sure that your household is kept safe and alert whenever it comes to unfortunate incidents.

Gutters

Naturally, the build-up of leaves and snow can cause damage to your gutters which could then further damage your home if it causes water leaks. Be sure to clear them out before it ends badly.

Air Conditioners

To avoid having your A/C unit/s freeze during the winter, see to it that you drain the pipes and hoses, and vacuum out any static water in your drain pan.  To further protect your air conditioning unit, you can cover your central unit using a plastic AC cover to keep snow and water from making your unit freeze and rust.

Furnace Filters

It’s highly crucial for you to clean or replace your furnace filter during this season since you’ll be using your heater most of the time. Having dirty filters can disrupt the airflow which can increase energy demand.

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So before buying an antique furniture or accessory, it’s important to take note of these criteria to ensure the value of an antique you’re going to purchase.

1. Rarity

• So what does rarity mean? A rare item is something that only you have owned it. Nothing in your neighborhood, or in your town, or maybe even in your country owns that item except you. Making it a rare item that’s hard to obtain, and lucky you because you get a hands-on to that item. So how do we know if something is rare? Let’s dive in to these attributes:
• Only a few were made – An item is rare if only a few we’re made and only those who can afford it can obtain the item.
• A few of the original pieces remain – A lot of antiques are manufactured in large batches but only a few of them are found now. Such antiques include crystal stemware, porcelain dishes, and tea sets.
• Unique color for each type of antique – A lot of antiques share different color and design which makes them unique.
• Different style from different artist or manufacturer – A rare antique has different styles depending on the artist or manufacturer.
• Unusual size or shape – Not just in color, antiques also come in different shapes and sizes. Such example is the silver spoon, or other utensils that has a specialized purpose such as the stuffing spoons that’s used to stuff a turkey. And also the marrow spoons that are used to coax out the marrow out of bones.
• Reproducible – If an antique is not reproduced or it’s difficult to reproduce, then it’s considered as a rare one.

2. Aesthetics

• When you look at an antique object and admire its exquisite beauty and form, then that piece has won you over at the aesthetics department. Some people believe that an aesthetics’ value depends on your personal taste. There are a lot of antique pieces that shares a universal design language in terms of aesthetics. You should definitely visit art galleries and museums if you have time because you can find a lot of aesthetically pleasing antiques there that’s very eye-candy.

3. Desirability

• Desirability is defined by what’s in vogue in the current market. An antique artist named Tiffany has created few wisteria lamps that contains hundred pieces of very small glasses. Some people thought that his lamps are gaudy, and so prices were steals by today’s standards. Now people covet the artistry that Tiffany displayed.

4. Authenticity

• It’s fun to examine the authenticity of an antique. But separating the truth from fiction of an antique is hard especially that technology is becoming more advanced each day. Here are some key items to look at to determine if an antique is authentic or not:
• Time Period: Just because a piece of furniture looks old doesn’t mean it’s made from a hundred years ago. There are a lot of furniture that looks old but are actually born yesterday. Manufacturer’s sometimes use old wood to create a piece of furniture to trick you.
• Artist/Company: An artist’s signature is worth more than a piece without one. But having a signature isn’t enough. You must examine if the type of piece is actually made by that particular artist. You must know the texture, paint, colors, and styles if it really came from that artist.
• The materials used: It’s better to examine the material that’s used in order to know the authenticity of an antique. For example, you see a bronze statue, but is it actually made from bronze? We never know, maybe that statue is made from Spelter. Spelter can look like bronze, but it wears off easily and it’s lighter, making it a cheap alternative to bronze.

5. Really Great Condition

• Ideally, buying an antique that’s exactly in the same condition the day it was born is a better choice. But you do know that a lot may have happened in the last hundred years. Maybe the item has gone through rough times and it isn’t as good looking as it was before. Here are 3 attributes on rating a condition of an antique:
• Mint condition – This means the piece is all in good shape. Such example is glassware. A glassware with no chips, cracks, or breaks means it’s in mint condition. And for furniture, mint implies no repairs or missing pieces.
• Excellent condition – This means that the piece has minor flaws. For example a table top, maybe there’s a veneer chip on it that’s been expertly repaired to look as good as new. Or there’s a pinhead flake on the base of a porcelain vase.
• Good condition – This means that the piece has gone through tough times but still managed to survived. Example is a porcelain figurine’s finger has broken and has been repaired by an expert.

A small damage may result to a big impact on a value of an antique. A minor chip or crack in a piece of porcelain may be fine with you, but in the eyes of antique experts, this is something that will worry them.

When shopping for antiques, it’s important to examine each item from every angle. You want to see the damage and changes that particular piece has gone through and look if the price has brought justice to it. Here’s a list of damages you should consider on looking before purchasing that piece:

• Scratches
• Breaks and tears
• Chips
• Cracks
• Dings and gouges
• Missing parts
• Fractures
• Discoloration
• Signs of repair such as glue, runny paint, mismatched nails
• Discoloration
• Broken noses or fingers on figurines

Damages are fine as long as it’s also fine with you. But a damaged antique can look unsatisfying, and its value decreases. But a repair job well done can restore its beauty, even though it doesn’t use some of its original parts anymore.

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