How old is antique? What age must an item reach before it can be considered antique? It is an intriguing question with no simple answer.
It used to be, long ago, that an item was antique once it was more than 100 years old. This traditional definition derived from British import/export law and later became a convention in the antique trade. So in 1925, for example, only items from 1825 or before were thought of as legitimate antiques in the trade. However, the 100 year rule is now widely considered defunct in the industry, with only the most ardent of traditionalists still adhering to the concept.
Another, even older, rule of thumb is that only hand crafted items can be considered antiques. This is a throwback to the immense changes in European manufacturing techniques that took place during the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th century. In a certain sense this guideline is much less arbitrary than the 100 year old rule.
However, it too has major drawbacks. For one, how do you treat recently created items that have been hand crafted? For this reason, among others, the hand-made test for antiques isn’t widely used.
So where does that leave us? While any standard we choose will be somewhat arbitrary by necessity, I believe a reasonable conclusion can still be made. First, antiques are generally older than vintage or retro items although the latter two terms can be rather flexible. But, in my opinion, requiring an age of 100 years is too restrictive. So where do we draw the line?
At this point, I can’t help but think back to when I used to visit antique stores with my grandmother during the late 1980s to mid 1990s. When browsing through the accumulated treasures, we rarely spent much time on anything produced after World War II. They might have still been collectible, but we didn’t consider them quite old enough yet. And I think that precedent works remarkably well today too.
So how old is antique? In my opinion, an item can generally be considered antique once it is about 50 years old. This means that today, in 2015, items produced anywhere from 1965 to 1975 gradually transition into antique status. Although admittedly unscientific, this guideline functions unexpectedly well in the real world. It helps us mentally divide more recent collectibles and fads from older, more seasoned and desirable antiques.
