Topic: What a difference a re-polish makes

[keith]

When I was at the Ruskin centre earlier in the year for the glass festival I bought a glass bottleneck from a glass restorer,would this have been him,can't remember his name he gave me a card and I lost it

[Nick77]

When I was at the Ruskin centre earlier in the year for the glass festival I bought a glass bottleneck from a glass restorer,would this have been him,can't remember his name he gave me a card and I lost it

Yes that's him, there were posters up for them.

[oldglassman]

HI ,
         First let me say that my knowledge of paperweights is -0,  however I am intrigued by this comment ,
 
"I suppose that had the chips and bruise been left I would have been left with a superficially attractive weight but still with damage that would undoubtably have affected its value as opposed to the pretty near perfect weight I have now."

Does this mean that in the paperweight world a restored item that is regarded as 'pretty near perfect' would not have an affect on its value ?

In my world of drinking glasses any restoration at all affects an items value especially if glass has been removed and the original proportions have been lost.

Just curious,

cheers ,
               Peter.

[Nick77]

As long as too much glass has not been removed, bearing in mind that they can vary in size and layout of canes from piece to piece of the same design any way.
 As I said earlier I thought that too much glass would have been necessary to be removed to eradicate the chips and bruise so had requested they be left as I thought it's value would have been too compromised. The restorer then found he could effect their removal without losing too much glass and did so.

I certainly find that items with damage affect resale values quite markedly.

Nick

[keith]

Nick,thanks for the reply,had a chat and he seemed like a nice bloke

[flying free]

Peter, I've been pondering this. 
I have a question in return though please.  In your world of (18c and earlier? please correct me if I'm wrong) drinking glasses for example, would damage affect an item more in terms of sale price, than a repair would do?

I suppose though for paperweights for example, as long as any restoration is mentioned in resale, then the history of the piece is complete and the buyer can make their own mind up on whether or not to buya restored item, and at what price.
m

[oldglassman]

HI,
       I don't find it alters the value of an item whether it is sold damaged or after restoration they are both not perfect examples, a restored glass may be easier to sell as the 'damage is no longer instantly visible and you are not reminded( for example) that the bowl has a chip when you lift it up , I don't think that restoration,if declared,increases the glasses value though, as you said the trouble comes when restorations are not declared and subsequent owners believe what they have is a perfect example.

cheers ,
            Peter.

[flying free]

thanks 
Having looked at past topics on repairs/restoration on glass, this is a much debated topic it seems.
m

[KevinH]

One point about restoration of paperweights is that if a domed weight is reground and polished then the profile can be altered such that a significant visual degradation results.

This usually means that design elements at the outer edge, especially millefiori canes, can be, at least partially, lost to sight (sometimes referred to as "falling off"). Where a weight has had a partial repair to the dome, rather than a full regrind, then the design elements can be off-centre when viewed through the top of the dome.

Another problem is where a domed weight has been restored to the top or side of the dome only, resulting in a "flat spot". That type of repair can cause a reduction in the magnification of the design at the area of the the repair.

Any repair that causes an obvious distortion to the internal design or pattern can give rise to a serious reduction in monetary value.

However, where a repair has simply been a light grinding and repolishing of the whole dome in order to remove surface scratches, the result is usually an improvement in the visual appearance of the weight. In such cases, the monetary value, compared to that of a perfect, original example, will not be greatly affected.

Many antique French weights (which have developed a cult status amongst some collectors) have been reground and repolished at some stage in their history but are still desirable to lots of people and therefore command sale prices not too far below the "price for perfection".

For myself, focussing on Ysart weights, I have only had one item repolished and that was because of heavy scuffing and scratching to the dome. I bought at auction it before I had even heard of the name Ysart. Nobody in the room wanted the scruffy looking concentric item and in reaction to the auctioneer's rather forceful tone, I raised my hand. It was mine for £20. In its repolished state, and with its proper attribution, I am sure that somebody on eBay would now be happy to pay at least £200 for it.

[tropdevin]

***

I agree with Kevin ( ) about the potential problems of changes to the profile, and canes 'vanishing  over the edge' (though I disagree about which paperweights have undeserved cult status... ).  I think the profile changes are more of a problem with lead crystal paperweights, due to the higher refractive index of the glass. It is quite common to find Clichy or Baccarat weights where some of the outer canes are invisible from a direct top view. I suspect this is usually due to repolishing, but I have seen one or two like that where the dome still had 'blocking' marks, and so was original. 

The 'flat top' is a problem with some weights that have been restored badly - and from time to time I come across weights that are covered with lots of tiny polished flats, so you feel you are looking into swirling water - another form of incompetent restoration.  However, I have seen plenty of weights with a flat or even slightly depressed top that were clearly made that way!

Alan