At an antique flea market in Milan, R once asked an elderly collector: “How do you know which item to buy?”
The old gentleman pointed to an exquisite micro-mosaic brooch and said: “I only buy things that make my heart beat faster and at the same time make me feel uneasy.”
Heartbeat is because of love, uneasiness is because knowing that effort (money, knowledge, or space) is needed for it. The highest state of collecting is not the accumulation of quantity, but the establishment of a personal system that perfectly fits one’s own aesthetics.
Today, R & Q share the “Danshari” (Decluttering) philosophy of building this system.
1. Buying Philosophy: Always ask yourself three questions
The temptation of “picking up leaks” (finding bargains) is huge, but blindly being greedy for cheapness will only turn your collection into a pile of expensive clutter. Before every move, please ask yourself:
❓ Question 1: Is it “Me”?
Antiques have strong style imprints. It may be Art Deco, it may be Victorian. But does it fit your aesthetic for the next 10 years?
- Wrong buying: Because it is cheap (below gold price), or because it is famous (many people say Art Deco is good).
- Right buying: Because it perfectly fits the tone of that velvet dress in your wardrobe, or its lines remind you of your favorite building.
❓ Question 2: Does it have a “Soul”?
Soul is story and craftsmanship.
- Look for craftsmanship: Compared to mass-produced machine-stamped jewelry, prioritize finding traces of handwork. For example: Jensen with hand-hammered marks, Cameo with obvious carving traces, or Hair Jewelry with complex weaving patterns.
- Look for stories: Rings with inscriptions, boxes with dates or names engraved on the back, their story value often far exceeds the material value.
❓ Question 3: Can I “Resurrect” it?
Antiques all have wear and defects. When buying, you must judge whether you have the ability and willingness to restore it.
- Low-cost resurrection: Just cleaning, changing a chain (such as Albert Chain).
- High-cost resurrection: Enamel peeling off in large areas, missing parts of large sculptures, gems need re-cutting.
2. Selling Philosophy: Letting go to soar
The “Sha” (discarding) in “Danshari” is equally important. The second greatest joy of collecting is watching your taste evolve.
⚔️ Selling Signal 1: Deviated from the theme
When your collection forms a system (for example, you decide to focus on collecting geometric style jewelry from 1920-1940), those romantic flowers from the Victorian period bought earlier may seem out of place.
- Decisive selling: Use them to exchange for items you truly want to own and that better fit your new theme. Selling is not a loss, but an aesthetic upgrade.
⚔️ Selling Signal 2: Functional loss
Some objects are beautiful, but because of functional loss, you cannot use them and can only put them in the drawer.
- Example: That beautiful George Jensen candlestick, because the candle holder size is too peculiar, you can’t buy suitable candles at all, and can only gather dust.
- Solution: Instead of letting it “sleep” in your hands, it is better to find the next collector who can “resurrect” it.
⚔️ Selling Signal 3: Emotional connection disappears
The value of an antique is three-dimensional: material value, craftsmanship value, emotional value. If you no longer have love for it, it only has material value for you.
Q’s Advice: If you have forgotten it in the box for more than a year, please say goodbye to it without hesitation. Let people who truly like it own it.
3. The Ultimate Meaning of Collection
At RareQuiste, we believe that the best collection is not what you bought with money, but what you filtered with time and knowledge.
Buying is the victory of knowledge, selling is the victory of aesthetics. May you build a collection system that has both depth and personal style.
