Do you like perfume? Lots of people do. But did you know that there is a growing number of people who like perfume for the bottle it comes in? Specifically, these people are interested in antique perfume bottles.
These people collect those perfume bottles which may possess historical significance or may simply be beautiful aesthetically speaking. Rare antique bottles can frequently be purchased through online auctions.
At present, the practice of antique bottle collection has quite a large following worldwide. Those who participate in online auctions may be dealers, fashion stylists, interior designers or simply eager collectors.
Why buy an antique perfume bottle? Buying a bottle is way of investing in the product as an item of art and antique. It is not considered an expense since it has immediate practical advantages superior to other forms of investment.
One tip is that it is less costly to buy and sell via a dealer rather than patronize an auction house since the latter pays astronomical commissions. A dealer has experience and knowledge in antique perfume bottles which gives the product added value and the collector gets more pleasure from knowing he is getting his money’s worth.
The biggest organization of collectors and dealers in antique perfume bottles in the world is the International Perfume Bottle Association. Through its website, it offers a magazine about collections, collectors and dealers and other information.
It also has a yearly directory of members of the association for the benefit of die-hard collectors. Every year, the organization conducts a convention where collectors and dealers from around the world can meet, talk shop, and attend an auction of thousands of bottles.
Many dealers and collectors of this kind of bauble currently rely on sites such as qxl.com and eBay to trade in perfume bottles. Dealers have realized that the online system offers them a chance to showcase their babies to the world while receiving the highest possible prices for pieces from their inventory.
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Fortunately, despite the high prices due to competitive bidding, bargains can still be availed of by traders. High-end bottle dealers now use a scanned image of the product being offered to help traders consider its value.
One common material used in making these antique perfume bottles is glass. However, enamel and porcelain also came into use later on when high taxes were levied on glass.
Portrait miniatures using enamel can still be bought sometimes but usually flowers and landscapes are the common theme. Porcelain started to become the material of choice for making the perfume bottles starting from the middle of the 18th century.
During the late 19th century and into the early part of the 20th century, many artist-craftsmen became attracted to the manufacture of perfume bottles. This caused perfume bottles produced during that period to have the elements of the various styles of the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau.
Different glass and ceramic materials were mixed to resemble ivory. These possessed applied or molded ornament in the current Chinese or Japanese idioms. Thus, perfume bottles and tiny tapered flasks that looked like Oriental snuff bottles were created.
So the next time you buy perfume for yourself, do not throw away the bottle afterward. You might just want to collect it for its future worth.
