How to spot a bargain
If I had a crystal ball that could foretell what was going to rise in value and become the ‘next big thing’, I assure you I wouldn’t be telling you. Instead, I’d be stockpiling whatever it told me to buy. But there is no such crystal ball, just personal opinion. However, it is worth following a few simple tips; even though you should remember that the main reason to buy an antique or collectable is because you like it.
Over the past 20 years, we’ve been told to ‘chuck out the chintz’ and aim for a clean-lined, modern look in our homes. This appeals to younger generations, who have little available money to collect antiques and, largely, little interest at that stage in their lives.
As a result, the values of many traditional antiques, such as Victorian and Georgian furniture, and ceramics and glass from the same periods, have plummeted. A solid mahogany chest of drawers can easily be found at auction for £150 to £600, and a simple but reliable Georgian dining table can be found for £250 upwards.
Similarly, 18th- and early 19thcentury porcelain can be found for a fraction of the cost of 10 or 20 years ago. Values also depend on condition, and the top end will always do well. It’s in the middle market that this drop is most noticeable.
The key is to look for the best pieces that you can afford, as quality always shines through. Apart from solid wood ‘brown furniture’ that has lasted 200 years and will last at least another two centuries if loved, consider good, early 19th-century porcelain, glass decanters and Doulton stoneware.
Authenticity, instant eye-appeal and condition are critical, and a quality, vetted fair such as the Antiques For Everyone fair in Birmingham is the perfect place to buy. Fashions are often cyclical so, not only have many traditional antiques never been so aff ordable, but they might become desirable again at any point in the future, possibly allowing you to turn a profi t.
Anticipating the changing and fashionable modern market of 20thcentury ‘antiques’, I recommend looking beyond the obvious, and considering nostalgia. Studio pottery and glass are good examples of areas to look at, partly because they can be picked up at antiques fairs, shops, and even car-boot sales.
Pieces by key innovators, such as potters Bernard Leach and Lucie Rie, are largely recognisable and therefore valuable. Instead, look at the generation of potters they inspired, with readily available, aff ordable pieces that may rise in value.
When supplies dry up or become too expensive, collectors choose another area. Look for pieces that have quality in terms of manufacture and design, but also shout out the style of the period. Spotting work that initiated or represented a look or trend the best, makes the time invested in learning about it worthwhile.
Many pieces made in the 1950s and 1960s are now joining art deco pieces from the 1920s and 1930s as being sought-after. I suggest looking at the 1980s, which I realise sounds a little shocking as it’s so ‘recent’, but the 1980s is now more than 30 years ago. That means it’s the same distance away today as the art-deco period was when wise people started collecting it in the 1960s. You might not like the look now, but the same was true of the strong art deco style in the Swinging Sixties, and look what happened to that.
www.antiquesforeveryone.co.uk
www.markhillpublishing.com
Over the past 20 years, we’ve been told to ‘chuck out the chintz’ and aim for a clean-lined, modern look in our homes. This appeals to younger generations, who have little available money to collect antiques and, largely, little interest at that stage in their lives.
As a result, the values of many traditional antiques, such as Victorian and Georgian furniture, and ceramics and glass from the same periods, have plummeted. A solid mahogany chest of drawers can easily be found at auction for £150 to £600, and a simple but reliable Georgian dining table can be found for £250 upwards.
Similarly, 18th- and early 19thcentury porcelain can be found for a fraction of the cost of 10 or 20 years ago. Values also depend on condition, and the top end will always do well. It’s in the middle market that this drop is most noticeable.
The key is to look for the best pieces that you can afford, as quality always shines through. Apart from solid wood ‘brown furniture’ that has lasted 200 years and will last at least another two centuries if loved, consider good, early 19th-century porcelain, glass decanters and Doulton stoneware.
Authenticity, instant eye-appeal and condition are critical, and a quality, vetted fair such as the Antiques For Everyone fair in Birmingham is the perfect place to buy. Fashions are often cyclical so, not only have many traditional antiques never been so aff ordable, but they might become desirable again at any point in the future, possibly allowing you to turn a profi t.
Anticipating the changing and fashionable modern market of 20thcentury ‘antiques’, I recommend looking beyond the obvious, and considering nostalgia. Studio pottery and glass are good examples of areas to look at, partly because they can be picked up at antiques fairs, shops, and even car-boot sales.
Pieces by key innovators, such as potters Bernard Leach and Lucie Rie, are largely recognisable and therefore valuable. Instead, look at the generation of potters they inspired, with readily available, aff ordable pieces that may rise in value.
When supplies dry up or become too expensive, collectors choose another area. Look for pieces that have quality in terms of manufacture and design, but also shout out the style of the period. Spotting work that initiated or represented a look or trend the best, makes the time invested in learning about it worthwhile.
Many pieces made in the 1950s and 1960s are now joining art deco pieces from the 1920s and 1930s as being sought-after. I suggest looking at the 1980s, which I realise sounds a little shocking as it’s so ‘recent’, but the 1980s is now more than 30 years ago. That means it’s the same distance away today as the art-deco period was when wise people started collecting it in the 1960s. You might not like the look now, but the same was true of the strong art deco style in the Swinging Sixties, and look what happened to that.
www.antiquesforeveryone.co.uk
www.markhillpublishing.com