Abacus
Antique Dealers: Antique Wedgwood China
Since
the company is now slightly over 250 years old, anything
made from year one to year 150 is now officially considered
to be an antique. Antique certification begins for
any item that can be verified to be at least 100 years
old and since the Wedgwood Company keeps meticulous
records on all of its designs, any piece of Wedgwood
can be quickly, easily and accurately dated.
In
addition to meticulous record keeping and files, Josiah
Wedgwood marked all of his designs with a signature
to identify the piece as his and not a copy, and to
date it accurately to the month and year it was produced.
Many people have gone to great lengths to fraudulently
copy these marks to make a newer piece of china look
like a piece of antique Wedgwood China for the obvious
financial gain.
With
the advent of online auctions, antique Wedgwood China
has become a hot item and the uninformed buyer may
think he's getting a bargain on some antique pieces,
when in fact he's buying newer pieces made to look
like they are antiques. There are collections of antique
Wedgwood China worth millions, depending upon the
original owner, the care and maintenance of the collection
and its completeness.
The
collection once owned by the Queen of England, meticulously
maintained, passed down through the generations and
currently on display in London, is literally priceless.
The
main reason for this huge interest in antique Wedgwood
China, other than the obvious financial one, is that
people desire to have a complete collection and after
many years of less than stellar maintenance, pieces
break and have to be replaced.
