Antique Perfume Bottles
Oct 29th, 2009 by admin
Collecting antique perfume bottles is incredibly fun, exciting and challenging hobby. However, there are few decisions that you should make before starting to collect antique perfume bottles.
Decorative vs. Commercial Perfume Bottles
There are two kinds of perfume bottles that you might choose to collect. Decorative perfume bottles are sold empty and therefore they can hold any type of perfume which you choose and they can be even refilled. On the contrary, commercial bottles are sold containing a certain brand of perfume and can not be refilled.
Collecting Decorative Perfume Bottles
If you chose to collect decorative perfume bottles you might specialize even more and focus on specific collecting field. You might concentrate on glass bottles producers, such as Lalique or Steuben. Perhaps you might like atomizer bottles or figural bottles. I would especially recommend to you to have a look at fancy cut glass or perfume bottles made in former Czechoslovakia. If you have time and money to do really tough research you might focus on bottles made before 1800s which are extremely rare and valuable.
Examples of interesting decorative perfume bottles:
* “Myosotis #3” by Lalique with nude stopper, signed, 9” c.1928
* Nude figure dauber with blue jewels made in Czechoslovakia 5.7” c1920s
* Perfume lamp with dancing girls by Devilbiss, 7.5” c1930s
When collecting decorative perfume bottles, make sure that any metals on the bottles have not been damaged by corrosion.
Recently, new unique “one of a kind” perfume bottles are starting to be popular. You should consider getting your hands on few of these handmade bottles from new artists because their value might rise in the time and you can buy them very cheaply these days.
Collecting Commercial Perfume Bottles
The advantage of collecting commercial perfume bottles,instead of decorative perfume bottles is that you will probably start your collection spending a lot less money. However, this does not mean that commercial perfume bottles are not valuable or sought after. The truth is quite the opposite.
Examples of commercial perfume bottles:
* “It’s You” by Elizabeth Arden. Baccarat figural hand. 6.5”. Mint in box. c1938.
* “Diorissimo” by Dior. Urn that has gilt flowers stopper. 9” With box. c1956.
* Ambre Antique by Coty. Gray stained maidens by R Lalique. 6”. c1913.
* Unnamed perfume by Elizabeth Arden. Blue bottle with blue horse figurine inside. 2.2”. With box. c1934.
You might decide to concentrate on a certain manufacturer such as Avon or look for miniatures. You could find antique perfume bottles produced during a certain time frame or year. A good way of starting your collection would be asking for empty perfume bottles from your friends and family. This way you can start building your collection of antique perfume bottles virtually for free.
When collecting commercial bottles, it is important to try to keep as much of the original packaging as possible. That includes any tags tokens that might have hung on the bottle. The condition of the bottle is also important factor in determining the value. The bottle should be clean or cleanable without corrosion on any metal parts. The bottle will probably be less valuable if it doesn’t have a stopper.
Finally, an interesting fact. 1963 is a crucial date for many antique perfume bottles collectors. Before 1963, stoppers were ground to fit inside of the perfume bottles. In 1963, manufacturers switched to plastic to use it on the end of stoppers instead. That means that commercial perfume bottle produced before 1963 is usually more valuable than those made after 1963.
I hope that this article gave you some interesting information about antique perfume bottles and that you found it informative. Collecting antique perfume bottles is a great hobby and I definitely recommend you to give it a try. I wish you a lot of luck with it.
