Do You Know The Difference ?
What is an ANTIQUE ? A true antique, as defined by most professionals in the antique field, as an item that is 100 years or older. This simple definition keeps things pretty cut and dry. The scale slides each year, of course, as more and more things fall into the antique range every year we keep adding more items to the list of Antiques. So a seller who lists something dating from the 1950s as an Antique is wrong, that shop selling ‘ retro’ items dating from the 1950s and 70s is not an antiques shop at all. A shop who using the term “antique” when their items are too new for that designation should raise questions in your mind. Is the seller misrepresenting his wares? In most cases they are just ignorant to the fact, they think what they are selling is an antique when it is a collectible or vintage item.
The term “vintage” should be used to describe items in more correct way. The term Vintage covers those things dating from the 1930s or to the 1970s, we used to use the term collectible for these items no longer made but not antique.
So, whether you prefer to use vintage or collectible for these newer items, just be sure to use ANTIQUE to describe objects more than 100 years old.
Michelle’s Antiques LLC
Michelle's Antiques LLC 