Start Collecting Lalique Glass

It is easy to begin collecting Lalique glass, as it has been in constant production since the late 19th century and is still available today. Thousands of pieces and hundreds of designs and objects are available, from small perfume bottles and inexpensive items like bookmarks costing a hundred dollars (or less if you are lucky) to one of a kind lost wax castings from before Rene Lalique expanded to blown glass moulds and pressed glass techniques running in the six figure price range.
Very popular art glass subjects to collect include antique glass,antique glass perfume bottles and art deco glass vases.
Most of these are readily available at reasonable prices.
Glass chandeliers are harder to find but the best place to look is in antique markets in Paris and rural France (where they are usually less costly).
Lalique Cristal is more expensive but of high quality.
Earlier vases tend to be higher in value and lalique art deco vase examples are genuinely more modestly priced.
One of the best places to look is in the Lille (Northern France) antiques market in Early September where you will have an astonishing choice of 14 kilometers of antiques in the city streets to choose from.
Beware though - there are MANY reproductions and outright fakes there as dealers bring goods from all over Europe to sell.

Lalique is both art glass and commercial glass. Thousands of Lalique pieces are perfume bottles as Lalique made the majority of them for many years in France.

You will find Lalique in many places. You can buy new Lalique glass manufactured by Renes granddaughter at many fine department stores and online sites.

As always, when trying to authenticate a piece to add to your growing collection, it is necessary to also own and use a respected collectors guide complete with detailed pictures of marks and variations.

As anyone who watches Antiques Roadshow knows, you do not just go to antique stores and Ebay to find them, but try estate sales and flea markets, garage sales and church rummage sales.

As with something as common as Lalique glass, many current owners of pieces have no idea what they have. Keep up to date with collector groups and other like minded folks so you will know when there are fakes being circulated; often the grapevine in such a setting can save a neophyte collector from getting taken advantage of by unscrupulous dealers.

Above all, enjoy the journey. Many happy hours can be spent in pursuit of that next great find.

As with many types of glass and art deco items, color and finish determine value as much as style and size. A large piece of later frosted Lalique probably will not bring as much as, for example, an early small black floral vase.

Knowing what you are looking at is critical, and the best bet is to see as many pieces and know their value as possible before you set out to corner the market in Lalique.

Know what the most valuable colours are. You will find Laliques in ten or more colors as well as clear and frosted finish. The majority of pieces are lead glass or crystal, and will be heavier than plain glass. Realize what Lalique commonly used for decorative schemes, as he often used fish, birds, flowers, nymphs, and dragonflies.

Watch the sharpness of the cuts and angles, as the first pieces out of the mould were very much sharper in detail and angle than the last ones to be produced, and are subsequently worth more. Watch for the signature not looking quite right, as fakes are out there with pieces this collectable and valuable.

You can tell that it is being produced currently as the mark used by Marie-Claude is Lalique h France. Her father, Renes son Marc, produced pieces until his death in 1977, which were heavily influenced by Renes works. The markings for Marc LeLique will show as Lalique France. Original Rene Lalique will normally be marked as R Lalique. Markings are generally acid etched, but some are raised and molded into the piece. They can be script or block and be legitimate.

Research Lalique. There is an incredible treasure trove of information, pictures, collections in museums, and online material to be discovered by the collector. Once you have your collection in progress, enjoy it. Display it proudly in your home or office, and do not forget to insure it. Most Lalique collections grow in value nicely, and more so if you are an avid collector. Do not be the collector who spends years of loving devotion towards collecting a good number of quality pieces to lose them to theft or disaster without even being able to begin the journey again with the insurance companys funding. Good Luck!

This is where you will find the BEST SOURCES of Lalique Antiques
(Its where the Dealers go shopping !
Antique Arcades