Note to the Novice Collector - Much of Antique Baccarat is unsigned !!! In fact if you find Antique Baccarat and it is signed with anything besides a sticker or no mark at all - the acid mark should be called into question. I have seen many pieces with the word Baccarat in relief in the glass mold - so you shouldn't worry about those much as they are almost always genuine. However acid etch marks are often faked. Most 1800's Baccarat, is unsigned. I find it necessary to make this clear as there is a seller with Signed Baccarat pieces every week on Ebay - and none of the pieces are real Baccarat.
Many novice collectors buy antique Baccarat from me and then send me surprized emails telling me that the item was not real Baccarat when in fact it is - but they read somewhere in a silly Blog that real Baccarat always bares an acid etch. THIS IS A TOTAL MYTH !!!! Only New Baccarat Always Bares the Acid Etch, Baccarat from the mid 1930's onward. Someone got their Lions Crossed.
There is also a misconception that Baccarat Bambous began in 1910 - which is a farse. The oldest catalog I have seen with Baccarat Bambous was 1870 - but I do not know when it originally began - as Baccarat began crystal production in 1734 !!! Wow! Sorry - but I am such a fan that such beautiful things were made so very long ago. I adore the beauty and magic of someone's dreams forever captured in such glorious design and so well made that it has endured the ages just to bring us pleasure.
As well, I encourage all Baccarat enthusiasts who are interested in buying a piece with intrinsic value to look into the unsigned antique pieces of Baccarat that are listed on ebay and elsewhere - as these pieces are quite often very valuable and too often overlooked. If you want to know what a great piece of Antique Baccarat is and don't want to buy a lot of expensive catalogs - I advise one to scroll through various fine antique dealers and their Antique Baccarat Crystal - which generally run $500 to several thousand dollars - and is almost always unsigned !!!! Because the fine antique dealers with pieces of real value have generally researched and done hours and hours of reading and surveyed the finest Baccarat in the finest of venues being sold to understand the quality, the style and the value of real Baccarat Crystal Antiquities. A $20,000
Antique Baccarat Vase is not going to have an acid etch 99% of the time - it will have no mark. Not only that - to make things even more confusing - if it is a piece of Baccarat with any sort of metal embelishments - say a gilt stand or sterling rims or legs - it may even have the name or assay mark of the metal worker and not the name of Baccarat - although Baccarat has had pieces imprinted with their name as well in metal portions. Which can confuse the average collector. You will see it quite often as well with Lalique pieces - Say a Lalique Perfume atomizer bottle may state Lalique in the description but the metal portion may be imprinted with the name of the company that produced the metal portion and no Lalique indications.
This is why good antique dealers make good money - they learn these secrets and sell them to the finest collectors of the world.
People also seem to believe Baccarat made only clear or formed crystal - Baccarat has made amazing pieces through the years in every color of the rainbow - in Black crystal, Blue crystal, Hand Painted Crystal, Molded Glass, Chinese Motifs, Bohemian style cut to clear, Arabic Style (Especially Pieces from the Ottoman Empire Era), Gold Gilded Transfers and much much more. Happy Hunting - Bid safe
The next time you see a "Signed Baccarat" piece with an acid etch - think twice and study the styles for yourself - don't just ask an expert - as even they are often wrong - do the leg work and earn a good investment. And the next time you see an attributed piece - remember the highest selling Baccarat pieces at Christie's and Sotheby's for Baccarat are attributed and unsigned.
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