Grandfather Clocks Antique or Not

Well this is a subject that the author of this blog post has been stewing about for some period. Grandfather clock sellers, and for that matter sellers of wall clocks and mantle clocks as well, will frequently describe their specific grandfather clocks or other clocks as antique, even when it is ONLY ten, twenty, or thirty years old!

By that definition, I am an antique as well … but I sure do not feel like one.

When I was growing up, an antique anything always had to be 100 years old, at the very least, to qualify as an actual antique. This is the definition we at 1-800-4CLOCKS.com have always used as that milestone when an item moves from the vintage milestone to the antiques description! Or occasionally, we might take the liberty of time definition if something is near antique, such as 90 years old or something.

OK, now before both taking the moral high ground and potentially looking like an idiot on our Grandfather Clocks Blog, I am about to look up the actual definition! Be right back, or as many might instead time today, brb.

INTERESTING … not as cut and dry a definition as I might have thought. I have learned something new. When used as a noun and according to USA Customs law, an antique is in fact defined as something more than 100 years old. But when used as an adjective, there is apparently a LOT more flexibility in the meaning. Look below at the dictionary definition excerpted here from Dictionary.com:

© Grandfather Clocks Blog and 1-800-4CLOCKS