How to Tell If Vintage Furniture Is Fake or Fake
While there have long been die-hard fans of vintage and antique furniture, the lack of furniture and the associated delays in delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic have made buying higher-end used goods even more competitive. As Sydney Gore writes in an article for Architectural Digest, many fakes have come in high demand.
Even if you are considering buying vintage furniture because you like the look and / or it suits your needs and you don’t have to worry about who made it, you should still avoid buying fakes as they can be bad. built. And if you’re paying big bucks, for example, for a real Knoll chair, then you definitely need to make sure it’s real.
Fortunately, in his article, Gore provides tips on detecting counterfeit vintage furniture (along with tons of other useful and interesting information). Here are some of them to keep in mind the next time you buy furniture.
Look for “Made in Italy” stickers.
According to Gore, “The ‘Made in Italy’ stickers are the new stamp of ‘Made in China’.” Of course, this does not mean that any vintage furniture you find with a “Made in Italy” sticker is counterfeit or inferior, but over the past few years, Italy has become a center for the production of unauthorized copies of high quality furniture. If you spot the sticker, find out where that particular designer’s furniture is actually made.
Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions.
It’s pretty obvious, but whether you are buying vintage furniture online (at places like Chairish , 1stdibs , Instagram or Facebook Marketplace) or in person, ask all the questions. Don’t worry about pretending to be confused about what you’re talking about – if anything, it’s the other way around.
“Any reputable furniture retailer should be able to prove with confidence why one of his pieces is genuine and truly vintage,” the anonymous person behind @northwest_mcm_wholesale on Instagram told Architectural Digest . “If the seller links to the 1stdibs listing or gets the same item from another store, you better keep asking questions. This is not authentication. “
Ask about the finish
There is one specific question the @northwest_mcm_wholesale guy recommends asking to help you figure out if the bedroom cases or furniture are genuine: “Is the finish original?”
“If the seller promises that the product is repaired or fully rebuilt, I press the pause button,” he says. It’s not that restoring a piece of furniture is necessarily a bad thing, but he notes that there is a difference between doing it “as close to the original factory finish as possible using modern means” and if it is “rebuilt at a human whim.” an ignorant dealer trying to make a quick buck. “