In Round Top, antiques are more than just pretty things to look at. They’re a way of life. This town lives, breathes and eats antiques (not literally, but you get the point). We’ve built a world-famous centerpiece for the antiquing world in the form of the twice-yearly Round Top Antiques Show, and many of our stores offer antiques and unique collectibles year-round. But if you’re not an antique lifer like some of the folks in our town, you may have questions about what exactly makes an antique, antique. Here’s our lowdown.

What’s an Antique?

Broadly defined, an antique is an object that has a high value because of its age. However, the term is used rather loosely, and unfortunately, there is no concrete definition of what constitutes an antique. But folks in the antique trade tend to stick to a few guidelines when speaking about their wares that we’ll outline here.

Antique

In the antiques trade, this term refers to something that’s more than 100 years old. These items have a high value because of their aesthetic and historical significance. This definition is also not hard and fast, because some antique dealers argue that items more than 50 years old should be considered antiques, while others say this definition would lower the overall antique standard. Either way, you should inquire about the age of an object when you’re shopping for antiques and make your own informed decision when deciding to purchase.

Collectible

This term is frequently used to describe an object less than 100 years old. As 100 years of age is generally the industry-accepted standard for antiques, this is a great way to describe an object that is old enough to be considered rare, but not yet at the antique stage.

Vintage

Hijacked from the wine industry, “vintage” tends to apply to items less than 25 years old. However, it generally refers to items from the time period 1960-1979. You’ll also see this term used more often to refer to clothing and jewelry.

Now that you’ve got a grasp on what terms to look out for when shopping for antiques, you’re well-equipped to head out to the 237 Summer Pop Up event June 4-7 and get to shopping! To learn more about the event and see a list of vendors, visit our event page. Happy hunting!