Tools For the Chinese Dealer & Collector

Chinese Porcelain and Art Collectors Essentials

Reference Material, Good Lights and Loupes! 

An essential part of building a good collection or an inventory (if you are a dealer) requires having a few essential tools of the trade.

Two Types of Lights, a Loupe...and Reference materials!

The BEST investments you can make and will save you thousands of dollars, maybe the first time you use them...

1. Let There Be LIGHT! 

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Do you own a JET-Beam?

• First,  always having a really , I mean really GOOD light is crucial. The typical flashlight just won't do. 99% are not strong enough and they generally make the wrong type of light for your purposes. The color spectrum given off by the typical pocket flashlight or penlight just don't cut it. 

JET-Beam lights are by far the very best for the antique dealer and collector, we use the BC-25. We have tried them all and when it comes to having a strong, compact, 600+ Lumen light at your finger tips nothing beats these for under $100.

Most importantly, they run on one re-chargable 18650 battery...and not just those $20 lithium budget busters. Many models have adjustable light intensity options...including ours.

Click Here ~ To View

Re-Chargeables; Get the Charger With Batteries

Click Here ~ To View

Also very handy for finding your way back to your car in the dark after those late night auctions and making sure you've gotten everything packed carefully!
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2. Buy Yourself a GREAT "UV" Flashlight or Blacklight

Never say this again...."I didn't know it was restored when I bought it..."

• When looking at an object, be it a piece of porcelain, a painting, furniture or even silver being able to detect repairs , filled chips, repainted hairline cracks and recent damage, nothing does it better than a good modern Blacklight also known as UV Flashlights. (Ultraviolet Flashlights) 
• They make flaws literally GLOW...you won't believe what you didn't or cannot see..

The Blacklights of today are not the Hippy Dippy lights of 35 years ago. 

• You NEED a Blacklight powerful enough to work well in places with other light in the area, whihc those old fragile "tube" lights just couldn't. Today, those powerful lights are available. No more taking the piece into a dark corner trying to get it dark enough to let the light reveal any problems. They are also very compact...as well as powerful. 

Several good models are made, including Nite Ize X5DMB-HUVT X5 Titanium UV Light LED Flashlight, check for it...

Here's a link to a wide variety of lights...

Click here to view and buy

This is the Blacklight we use, its excellent

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3. What kind of a LOUPE do you own?

Having a good Loupe is worth it's weight in gold....

Any good dealer will tell you without a good LOUPE, you will make some expensive mistakes. When you couple a good LOUPE with good lighting you're well on your way to really knowing everything you need to know before raising your hand in an auction hall or writing a check at an antique shop.  They range in price from under $10 to over $200...However you can find some very good ones for under $50, some under $30. 

Click Here ~ To View Some LOUPES

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4. Reference Material Chinese and Asian Art

Building a good library of reference books is an essential for any dealer or collector. Of course you probably know that and if you don't...I cannot help you.

I've been buying reference books for research since the 1970's, and over the years they have accumulated thousands plus auction catalogs...today, many that I bought when they were fairly new are now either no longer available or have risen to prohibitive price levels.. Books being sold today will no doubt do the same. So keep building your library. !

Good ones, rarely get less expensive as most are NEVER reprinted.

Click Here To Find a Good Book!
and some more Books!