{"id":62,"date":"2017-09-26T18:55:06","date_gmt":"2017-09-26T18:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/?p=62"},"modified":"2017-10-12T18:29:28","modified_gmt":"2017-10-12T18:29:28","slug":"developing-a-good-eye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/style-shakedown\/developing-a-good-eye\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing A Good Eye, Part 1: Learning To Discern"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"header\"<\/h2>\n

Learning To Discern<\/h3>\n

This is Part 1\u00a0of an ongoing series.\u00a0<\/em><\/h6>\n

Collectors with a \u201cgood eye\u201d build killer collections. They know where to go, what to think about, what to pay, and when to pounce. They have learned how to assess each item they are considering for their collection. In fact, this ability to discern makes even the youngest of them seem seasoned and gifted.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, having a good eye is not something you either have or don\u2019t have at birth. It\u2019s not like being born with perfect pitch. It\u2019s not a gift of genetic coding that enables you to send a 15 lb shot put through the school\u2019s back fence on your first try. It\u2019s not like being born into the Rockefeller family, with such preposterous wealth that you can hire someone else\u2019s good eye to build a collection of treasures for you. So, even if you think you\u2019re the puny one at the waaaay back of the Innate Talents and Gifts Line, take heart, because with motivation and practice, you too can develop a good eye!<\/p>\n

\"cab\"<\/p>\n

The Longman\u2019s Dictionary of Contemporary English describes having a good eye as\u00a0being \u201cgood at noticing a particular type of thing, especially something attractive, valuable, [or] of good quality.\u201d Anyone willing to learn the intricate variations and differences between collectibles within a particular group can absolutely develop this talent. Anyone can\u00a0learn to discern.<\/strong>\u00a0The definition of discern is this: it is to perceive by sight and by the intellect. It is to distinguish mentally and recognize the difference between things. It is to become discriminating, in the best sense of the word. Those who take the time to learn to discern can develop an eye so good as to seem gifted.<\/p>\n

The key to discerning is not that difficult.\u00a0You must learn to distinguish between elements, not only\u00a0looking<\/i>\u00a0at a potential treasure, but actually\u00a0seeing\u00a0<\/i>it<\/a>. This involves consciously asking yourself a specific set of questions and thinking through the answers. Interestingly enough, these core questions remain the same regardless of what it is you enjoy collecting. They are the \u201cfive W and H questions,” (who, what, when, where, why, how) and they are like secret weapons in a collector\u2019s toolbox. The value in developing\u00a0a good eye isn\u2019t just the pride of doing something well, or even in attaining\u00a0recognition of your skill. It is that, at the end of the day, you will wind up with a vastly better collection of the things you love.<\/p>\n

\"question\"<\/p>\n

Even though the\u00a0core questioning method<\/a>\u00a0(five\u00a0W and H questions) remains constant, each type of collection requires its own variation. For example, the elements on a timeline that a collector of Anime figures or Marvel action figures needs would be different than the timeline information that would be helpful to a collector of\u00a0antique watches.\u00a0The interconnectivity between each category of collectibles<\/a>,\u00a0the culture of its era<\/a>,\u00a0technological milestones<\/a>, and even historical events is certain. Because of this, developing the question when, for your particular collection, will enable you to place a potential treasure more accurately in it\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

For example, if you were a collector of antique pocket watches, knowing something about metal working technology and historical events during the Victorian era and early 20th Century would be of great value. That watch collector would want to know that a white metal watch case could not possibly be older than 1895, when the invention of the oxyacetylene torch first made it\u00a0possible to melt platinum for use in cast jewelry and watchmaking. Moreover, knowing there was no formula for white gold before 1912 would eliminate that as a possible material as well. Stopping long enough to think about a watch development timeline would reveal that the watch case could only be silver or a base metal. This bit of discernment might\u00a0alter what price that collectors would pay, no matter how excited they might be at the moment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

\u00a0Seasoned members of \u00a0collecting hub Gemr.com’s\u00a0Vintage Watch Club\u00a0can date a watch just by looking at it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Your eye is honed as you work through\u00a0developing how to ask these questions. By answering these questions, you are developing a kind of conscious inquiry that enables you to zero in on what it is you actually see, recognize gems when you come across them, and pay no more than absolutely necessary (That quiet hyperventilation of\u00a0discovery improves with practice…or so we are told.)<\/p>\n

Developing your eye will give you the ability to further enhance your love of collecting, or perhaps turn your hobby into a serious collection. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t need to begin at birth, and it grows with practice. So, take heart, it really doesn\u2019t matter if you were born with a tin ear, a propensity to trip, or slow word processing. You can start now, at any age. In this series, you\u2019ll learn how to give yourself the gift of having a good eye!<\/p>\n

This was part 1 of an on-going series. To see Part 2, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Collectors with a \u201cgood eye\u201d build killer collections. They know where to go, what to think about, what to pay, and when to pounce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,11],"tags":[19,29,32,15,28,16,31,27,25,22,21,23,26,30,20],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-collectors-central","category-style-shakedown","tag-antiques","tag-antiquing","tag-assessing","tag-collecting","tag-collections","tag-collector","tag-dating","tag-development","tag-discernment","tag-finds","tag-fleamarket","tag-hunting","tag-lifestyle","tag-questioning","tag-vintage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180,"href":"https:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions\/180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goantiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}