Why antiques are so important in 2022

We are all guilty of becoming impatient at some point or another, you ordered that book on Amazon yesterday, and it hasn’t arrived yet -”What is taking so long!?”, the hallway cabinet you want is on order from another branch and is going to take up to 5 working days to arrive – “are they sending it from the moon?!”

The evolution of technology has made us a very impatient community, and the younger generation is showing no sign of slowing down.

The last 10 – 20 years has seen a noticeable shift towards the purchase of the latest in technology and new goods. Millennials are currently the strongest influencers, unfairly labelled as materialistic and spoiled. The dismal truth is that many are struggling to achieve their goals and studies indicate that they are financially about 20 years behind schedule, compared to the previous generation. So how has this impacted on the Antiques world you might wonder – the need to fulfil a desire imminently and at an affordable price has largely been driving purchase behaviours, but thankfully things are changing. This is why auction houses, such as Dawsons, have become essential in facilitating education and discovering forgotten treasures to bring to market. Antiques can be an excellent investment, whilst also enriching our lives, and you are more likely to get value for money at auction than at your local High Street store. Our devoted experts are determined to raise awareness, and offer our bidders fascinating and distinctive items at each auction.

There are some misunderstandings about the antique vs high street regarding pricing and quality.

Quite regularly, customers are unaware that they might purchase a comparable item through an auction house rather than on the High Street, often costing less and better quality. A good example would be antique versus modern furniture. Furniture from the High Street is frequently overpriced and generally composed of low-quality materials. However, antique furniture at auction is regularly less expensive, made of superior quality wood and outstanding craftsmanship, which has stood the test of time. Aside from the added environmental impact of mass-produced items nowadays, antique furniture offers many attractive attributes for consideration.

It is also important to remember that Antique and Vintage items frequently have historical importance, occasionally contributing to their collectability. The allure is that each piece has a unique past or historical significance, contributing to its worth. Modern items usually depreciate and deteriorate quicker due to poor quality and assembly-line production, resulting in antiques generally being a wiser investment, as their value tends to continue to improve over time.

We want to share the delight and satisfaction that antiques bring to people's lives into 2022 and beyond, especially after the last (almost) two years. Although we have noticed a presence of younger generations in the auction house, we hope that 2022 will bring a new age of enthusiastic bidders and collectors. Antiques are symbolic of our rich history in a modern and ever-changing world.

They are exciting and there is always something for everyone to explore at an auction house, not to mention visiting one can make for a brilliant day out!

We hope that you learned something new from this article and found it informative. Dawsons hold monthly Fine Art & Antiques auctions, and you can find the next upcoming auction here. 

Alternatively, please do get in touch if you have any fine art or antiques that you are keen to value.

We would love to hear from you: 

0207 431 9445 / info@DawsonsAuctions.co.uk