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antique dealer
Antique dealers buy and sell antique objects and collectors' items. They may deal in a wide range of antiques or specialise in a particular area such as jewellery, glass, furniture or china.
The work involves:
- buying items from sales rooms, auctions, markets and trade fairs
- selling them to the general public from shops or from stalls in antique centres. Some specialist dealers may work from home, buying and selling to order
- negotiating purchases and sales on an individual basis
- increasingly buying and selling items online
- carrying out minor restoration work
- researching the identity and potential value of objects
- advising owners on the value of their antiques for insurance or sales purposes.
Hours and Environment
There are no set hours of work. Antique dealers have to be prepared to work long and unsocial hours, including weekends and evenings.
A driving licence is essential, as the work usually involves a lot of travelling. Nights away from home may be necessary.
The work may involve lifting and carrying.
Skills and Interests
To be an antique dealer, you should:
- have a passionate interest in the items you deal in
- be willing to research, study and learn from others
- be interested in history and preferably a specific period
- have good valuation skills
- have strong nerves and negotiating skills
- have good judgement and the ability to make quick decisions
- have business ability and a good sales technique.
Entry
You do not any formal qualifications to be an antiques dealer. You will need:
- as much knowledge of antiques as possible - either broad general knowledge or specialist knowledge of one area of antiques
- an 'eye' for saleable items
- enthusiasm and sales skills
- enough financial capital to cover your costs.
They are several ways in which you could get started:
- working in an antiques shop, or for one of the smaller or medium-sized antique or auction houses as an assistant or a general worker. It is useful to have experience in retail or customer service
- gaining some experience through work in a salesroom or an auction house as a porter, clerk, cataloguer, valuer or auctioneer. This can be supplemented by part-time study for qualifications in arts subjects such as history of art, fine art and decorative arts
- starting collecting and researching as a hobby and then taking a stall at a one-day market or fair. This could be gradually built up into a business
- gaining knowledge by doing a degree or diploma in a related area such as fine arts, applied arts or history of art
- joining one of the larger city-based salesrooms such as Sotheby’s or Christie’s who recruit small numbers of graduate trainees every year. You usually need a relevant degree.
For entry to a degree course you will usually need:
- at least five GCSEs (A-C)/S grade (1-3); and
- two or three A levels/H grades, or equivalent.
An Access to Higher Education qualification may also be accepted for entry to certain courses.
Please check with colleges or universities for exact entry requirements.
If you have an unrelated degree or want to study further, several institutions run relevant postgraduate courses, although these can be very competitive and/or expensive. Examples include:
- MA in Arts Market Appraisal (Professional Practice) at Kingston University
- postgraduate education programmes at Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
You can find details on routes into this career on the British Antique Dealers' Association (BADA) website. Please see contact details in Further Information.
Training
There is no fixed system of training. You can add to your skills and knowledge by:
- experience
- extensive self-study and research
- degrees and postgraduate courses
- training schemes provided by major auction houses
- privately run courses.
If you begin by working in auction house or antiques shop you will learn on the job from those with more experience.
Opportunities
Antique dealers in the UK work from shops, antiques markets and fairs and from home. Most dealers are self-employed, some are part-time and a few combine dealing with restoration work. It could be possible to progress to specialist dealer or auctioneer.
Assistant jobs can be difficult to find but the BADA offers a forum for advertising vacancies in their members' newsletter.
There are not many opportunities at major auction houses, but some recruit trainees on graduate training schemes.
Annual Income
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
Starting salaries for assistants are around £10,000 to £12,000 a year.
Antique dealers with experience could expect to earn £20,000 or over.
Successful dealers in specialist areas working at the top level can earn up to £50,000.
As an antique dealer your income could vary enormously depending upon your level of expertise, location and whether you are self-employed or working for one of the major auction houses.
Further information
Chelsea
London
SW10 0SZ
Tel: 020 7823 3511
London
SW7 1BD
Tel: 020 7589 4128
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The information contained in our Career Profiles Database was correct at time of publishing, but since publication certain details may have changed so please use this section as a research tool and in some cases further research may be required.
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