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Thursday, October 09, 2008

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antique diamond jewelry Article Of The Month

Antiques -The Past Never Goes Out Of Style

By Michael Russell

As a society, we all must be a little paranoid. We can barely contain ourselves, waiting for the next techno gadget to make our lives better. And even if our lives isn't better for owning it; we have to buy it anyway, just to keep up with the Jones'. As soon as we get this new toy, it's great, at least for a little while. We eventually get bored with our new toy. We start to misplace it, lose it, it doesn't even matter anymore because we've completely lost interest. Slowly but surely we start to buy more and more new gadgets, but it doesn't matter because they all seem to end up in the same place. Somewhere, in the back of our closet, gathering dust, with all the other super incredible gadgets that we once ran out to buy. We really don't want to throw the old toys away because we might want to use them again; but as time passes and objects start to pile-up, we reluctantly make the choice to dispose of our old toys, to make room for the new.

They say, "everything that is old, becomes new again". Styles come in cycles, so if you're around long enough, an old style will become new again. This concept really does apply to fashion. It's amazing to see clothing styles from 20 and 30 years ago, brought back as the latest fashion. But we can only wonder, if it's the clothes, or the fact that the people wearing them are so young that they have no clue that their style has been done before.

Maybe it's our human need to stay somehow connected to the past; that has driven us to create an industry for the past. And this industry would be that of antiques. Yes, antiques, that old junk that was left behind by our great-great ancestors. No one has really created a definition for antiques that everyone agrees on; but a more general description is, objects that have reached an age which makes them a witness of a previous era in human society.

Objects, which are antiques, usually show an attention to detail and design; like the older model automobiles. The more unique an antique is, the more valuable it's likely to be. Just about any object can become an antique if it lasts long enough. It seems very strange, that an industry like antiques, which at times appears to be like a private club, has no say so in who can enter the club. Antiques can be purchased in stores, or through dealers and even on the internet. There are many people who have become dedicated in shopping for antiques; and they don't just do it from home, but they travel around the country, hoping to find a special piece.

It's amazing how society can create an industry, where apparently one didn't exist. In antiques, people are basically salivating over objects that many of us would've considered old junk. Yet, we have lots of people willing to pay great deals of money for the privilege of owning an object that probably had very little value, back in its heyday.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Antiques

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Clean mildew on wooden furniture with a cloth moistened with one cup water mixed with one tablespoon bleach and one tablespoon liquid dishwashing detergent. Dry with a clean cloth.
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Ask around about dealers: ask friends, call your local museum or try a nearby historical board. You're looking for a good reputation and somebody who has put down roots in a community. They depend on good word of mouth and repeat customers. One group you could consider shopping with is the Canadian Association of Antique Dealers. Members of this organization have a refund policy.
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Examine the Drawers. Check the drawers. Make sure they slide in and out without resistance or wobbling. Most pieces of furniture made before 1900 will have dovetail joints on the drawers. Dovetails will be precise on pieces made after the advent of the machine age in the 1830s or 1840s; dovetails executed before that will be uneven and done by hand. Butt joints are a sign of inferior workmanship.
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How do you find good antique shops when you're traveling out of town? I found it helpful to befriend dealers in shops I liked, then asked them if they could recommend other places that carry similar merchandise. I liked the antiques in my bed and breakfast, so I asked the owner where she shops. If you're just pulling into town, find a store with a sensibility that matches your own, then ask the proprietor for recommendations. I went into a gift shop with lots of funky-chic merchandise, and the woman at the register was a font of knowledge about antiques dealers lurking off the beaten path.
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Store plastic toys or other plastic items away from the heat, not touching one another.
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More antique diamond jewelry Info

Silver Antiques - Sterling and Silverplate

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:22:14 -0600
Vintage sterling and silverplate, antique silver frames, and decorative silver art forms. Periodically, silver enjoys great popularity in jewelry and now is one of those times..

Learning About Wall Pockets

Wall pockets really hit their heyday during the 1940s and �50s. After their popularity waned with homemakers, it took a while for them to catch on with collectors leaving...

Estate Jewelry - Antique or Vintage - Which is Which

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:21:51 -0600
When it comes to estate jewelry there is always much confusion about what is and what is not estate jewelry. Although many pieces of estate jewelry are antique, many pieces are also vintage, retro, or fairly modern. Estate jewelry also does not mean fine jewelry. Estate jewelry can be costume or ...


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The Best Information On Antiques

antique diamond jewelry Article Of The Month

Using Antiques in Interior Design to Reflect Your Decorating Style

By Andrew Caxton

What people look for in antiques and reproductions. How to use antiques and antique reproductions in decorating. What makes an antique valuable. in different people's views.

There are a lot of differing opinions as to what makes a good antique. Some believe that slight imperfections or something missing due to use are just authenticators and should never be repaired; others believe that the antique has to be complete and perfect for their consideration; still others, who consider themselves true conoisseurs insist that an antique be signed, just as any other work of art would be. These last clearly have the means to support this expensive point of view.

The real way to collect antiques is to be constantly alert to the kinds of antiques that are out there. If you were shopping for a race horse, a pedigreed dog, or a certain car, you would always keep your eyes and ears open for the right one for you. As for antiques, perhaps you would be just as happy with one of the quality reproductions that are made in the major cities of the world. People buy these all the time, and there are very many beautiful and sought after furniture and accessory reproductions. Real antique collectors, however, can spot a reproduction from a mile away. For the afficianado, reproductions do not have the ageless quality that an antique displays.

All of the parts of a true antique fit a perfect whole and the finish gains a certain patina with age. A fine antique is almost 'good in its skin', as a confident person may be said to be. If your pocketbook does not allow you to indulge in good antiques, you would probably be better off investing in lower cost but good quality modern furniture. In that way, the inexpensive rugs and materials you will have to buy will go better with your more modest furniture. This is a good beginning, because as you get older and your tastes mature and your bank account grows, you can then begin to collect one fine item at a time, all the while enjoying the pieces you were able to afford at the beginning. There are many very fine antique collections that started out just blending in with the furniture at hand until, at some point, after more and more pieces were accumulated, there is a cohesive whole to the collection.

As you become more and more financially successful, even the less expensive antiques can be replaced by rarer and finer items until the perfect antique collection has been amassed. This is a much wiser system than trying to build a collection that may be of dubious value (even if you pay a lot for it) if you do not have the experience and wisdom to make the right choices. Whether a piece of good furniture is from the antique or modern era is irrelevant if the piece is a cherished part of ones life. Antiques and other works of art can be bought, inherited and passed down. You want to be sure to be able to pass down fine works of art and pieces of furniture, so make sure that you choose items that are beautiful in their own right, whatever the period they represent. You dont want the antiques you pass down to end up in the back of a closet or dusty on a shelf because the item was never chosen with care in the first place.

About The Author

Andrew Caxton is a syndicated writer and the editor of http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com . For additional information on interior design subjects follow this link, that cover the basics of decorating styles

More Information On antique diamond jewelry

Be suspicious if the interior mechanism of a clock just looks too new. It is quite common for a new mechanism to be placed in an old case. If you are buying the clock for decorative and aesthetic reasons you may not care, but if the antique is to be an investment or part of a collection, the presence of a new mechanism essentially means the clock is a "fake."
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Mixing furniture of different periods and nationalities is a fairly safe bet, so long as the pieces exhibit roughly the same degree of sophistication. Country cousins do not always mix happily with city types. It is not a matter of money. Vernacular furniture often finds itself out of place in an aristocratic ambience, even though it can now cost as much, and in some cases more, than its ormolu-mounted equivalent. A good oak Welsh dresser of around 1800 can cost as much as a Sheraton mahogany side-board of the same date; a well-carved French Provincial commode can fetch as much as one made by a Paris ebonite, while a simple Shaker sewing chest can bring more at auction in the USA than the rest of them put together
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antique diamond jewelry Stories

Estate Jewelry - Antique or Vintage - Which is Which

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:21:51 -0600
When it comes to estate jewelry there is always much confusion about what is and what is not estate jewelry. Although many pieces of estate jewelry are antique, many pieces are also vintage, retro, or fairly modern. Estate jewelry also does not mean fine jewelry. Estate jewelry can be costume or ...

Wood Antiques and The Basics About Wood

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:22:06 -0600
Find primitive wooden crafts, old wood boxes, frames, magazine racks, rocking chairs, vintage signs and decorative art. Oak, mahogany, walnut, pine, rosewood, maple, elm - different uses were made of these throughout the centuries. Learn the basics about the different kinds of wood that are regularly seen in antique furniture and some common wooden decorative treatments.

Estate Jewelry - Antique or Vintage - Which is Which

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:21:51 -0600
When it comes to estate jewelry there is always much confusion about what is and what is not estate jewelry. Although many pieces of estate jewelry are antique, many pieces are also vintage, retro, or fairly modern. Estate jewelry also does not mean fine jewelry. Estate jewelry can be costume or ...


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