What are the best vintage glass brands and which ones may be worth $10,000+?
VIDEO: Top 5 types of antique glass in today’s market, according to Mike Fetterhoff who owns 66 Unique Antiques in Nashville, Michigan, and who also has a YouTube channel called Antique Talk.
Glass brands are ordered from least to most sought after below.
What vintage glassware sells, what doesn’t? What should you look for at antique shops, flea markets and estate sales? Which are more common? Which ones are more sought-after in today’s market?
A high-quality antique mall in Texas which specializes in all of the glass pieces below is The Antique Gallery of Lewisville located in Lewisville, Texas.
5) Depression glass (yellow/canary, blue/aqua, uranium, amethyst most rare and popular for the best vintage glass brands).
Depression glass started to be produced during the great depression of 1932. It was a way of giving hope to Americans during a terrible time period. You could get depression glass pieces in oatmeal boxes, movie theatres, or even car dealerships. These glass pieces were given away as awards to try to stimulate the economy. So you could go watch a movie at the theatre and be rewarded with a nice piece of depression glass. However, this is considered to be a low-quality type of glass becomes there will be flaws in it such as seams, bubbles. It was produced with low-end cost and low-end labor. There are many unique colors and patterns that make a great collector’s market today. The pink, green and amber colors do not have as much value because they are much more common because they were mass produced and you see them in a lot of antique shops and at garage sales. You look for yellow/canary, blue/aqua, uranium and amethyst.
4) Carnival glass (reds, peaches and aquas most popular)
Carnival got its name because it was given away in the early 1900s at carnivals. You threw a ball in a basket or tossed a ring and you won a nice piece of depression glass. This is a great collect’s market because you do not see these pieces give away at carnivals anymore. Back in the day it was called the poor man’s Tiffany. Tiffany is a high-end glass company and any type of association with it was considered a compliment. The carnival glass colors that are more common are marigold, amber and green. Carnival glass is a more popular market and will yield more money on resale than depression glass. Look for reds, peaches and aquas. Be sure to do your research because many patterns and colors were offered and some of these will be worth a lot more money.
3) Elegant Glass is another of the best vintage glass brands (pastel colors, yellows and blues)
Elegant is a significantly higher quality glass. Companies that produced this glass were Cambridge, Fosteria and Heisey. These glass pieces were produced at a higher quality with no seams, bubbles or wrinkles that you might find in the lower quality glasses. This is a very thin glass, but a very beautiful glass. You will find dainty wine glasses. The most common pieces are clear crystal glass pieces with etching on them. The pieces that will give you more money are your pastel colors such as yellows and blues. If you have a complete set of Elegant glass you should be able to make good money on them. But, you need to do your research because there are many etched patterns that vary in popularity and value.
2) Fenton Glass (high quality one-of-a-kind pieces) baskets, vases, plates with high-quality workmanship (pink, aqua, cranberry most sought after)
Fenton glass is one of the most prolific glass companies in the world with a huge glass market. They offer high-quality, one-of-a-kind pieces. Fenton has glass artists who hand-paint beautiful pieces so the prices are always at the top of the market. Fenton offers beautiful and vibrant colors such as cranberries and aquas. Milk glass is the least popular glass seller right now. You will want to look for pink, cranberry, aqua and custard. Be sure to do your research because some of the pieces can be worth a lot of money.
1) Art Glass (most beautiful and highly valued flawless glass pieces) Worth $10,000 PLUS.
Art glass is some of the most beautiful and highly valued glass in the world today. Duran, Murano, Tiffany and Steuben are some of the top producers. They offer some of the most unique, one-of-a-kind pieces created by world-renowned artists. Look for vibrant colors with no imperfections with very unique looks. Be sure to do your research as these pieces are often reproduced to be look-alikes to the real thing.
