Antique
Today, everything seems to be an antique. The 1980s brick cell phone and a craftsman-style table, handcrafted during the depression are each slapped with the same "antique" label that a 1800’s era family heirloom quilt justly deserves. For those in the trade, however, this word does not just mean "old," but signifies a minimum specific age and should not be applied to the ‘80s brick cell phone and, perhaps, not even to the depression-era handcrafted table.
The Antiques Roadshow must regularly decide what is and what is not an antique. According to them, an "antique" is, "[g]enerally speaking, an object of considerable age valued for its aesthetic or historical significance. In the antiques trade, the term refers to objects more than 100 years old."
Thus, when buying or selling an item labeled "antique," trade standards suggest that the term should be reserved only for items greater than 100 years old. Outside of the practice of buying and selling items, however, use of the word "antique" can be understood to attach no specific age to an item.
Even inside the trade, though, there is some variability as to the exact age that signifies an antique. Generally speaking, it is safe to stick with the 100 year definition, but some hold to an 80 year marker. The 80 year marker considers the heritage of the item in that it reflects the span of two generations, with one generation traditionally considered to be the length of 40 years.
These are all simply trade standards, but it should also be noted that U.S. Customs has set their own legal definition of an antique, and it is in agreement with the 100 year guideline. U.S. Customs also adds a quality standard to their definition in that, while it is acceptable to repair or restore an antique, the item must retain its original character and be less than 50% restored to be considered an antique.
In keeping with these standards, let’s examine the three items discussed above. The brick cell phone from the 80s, while being the oldest cell phone produced, could not be considered an antique for 70 more years. Likewise, as odd as it seems, that depression era, handcrafted table is, as yet, a few years shy of acquiring a true antique status. Indeed, of the three, only the heirloom quilt from the 1800’s is a true antique.
Vintage
Even if they may not be aware of what the standard is, many people realize that there is some standard for defining an antique. Many people speculate that if an item is not antique it must be at least be "vintage." Sometimes this is the case, but not always. Often, it is all in the wording.
Vintage has several different accepted meanings, and that can cause confusion. The loosest meaning implies that the item is of a fashion that was popular in a different era. Used in this sense, "vintage" may not even mean that it was produced in that era, but simply that it mimics the fashions of that era. This can cause trouble, because most people expect the term to mean something more when applied to something that is being bought or sold.
Many people expect it to have some standard of date applied to it. Accordingly, most experts in the trade have decided that the term "vintage," when used in a way similar to the term "antique," refers to items that are over 50 years old, but less than 100. This kind of standard works when dealing with truly old, but not antique, items but falls short when using the term to describe something newer, and from a specific era. Understanding how the term came to be used in this way can help set the path for clearer communication.
The term "vintage" was originally derived from the dating of a bottle of wine, where the vintage date, or the date the grapes were grown, gives some added information about the value of the wine. If the vintage year was a good one for grapes, it indicates that this wine is of high quality.
This history of the term helps in understanding important ideas about the use of the term "vintage." It shows us that the term actually dates something. Just as it is used to refer to the exact year a certain wine was produced, it should, when buying and selling goods, be used in accordance with a date, or some other time frame, in its general usage.
If an item is said to be vintage, then, it should, technically state the year, or the era, in which it was manufactured. Sometimes, this type of dating of a vintage item is implied, as in when a manufacturer produced something that is highly praised for only one season. In this instance, the date is often left off because, just like in wine production, when a highly favorable crop is produced, those in the know don’t need the date, but simply adding "vintage" to it signifies that it was from that one really great year.
For many items, "vintage" used in this way refers to the year or era that the item first became popular. "Vintage Peanuts," then, would refer to items produced in the 1950s era, when the comic strip was first popularized. If the item is not from that specific era, it may still be labeled as vintage, but just like with our wine example, it should have a specific year attached to it: "Vintage 1971 Peanuts." Labeling as such indicates that the item is not a replica of the 1971 Peanuts item, but an item actually produced in 1971.
Trade standards are not as demanding about the use of the term "vintage" as they are the use of the word "antique." This is likely because the term has only recently become widely used in marketing items. A standard may one day be set more firmly, but for now, the above are considered the most widely accepted uses of the term.
Regards,
