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Celebrity Ph.D. antiques appraiser, Dr. Lori hosts antiques appraisal events worldwide. Dr. Lori is the star appraiser on Discovery channel. Visit www.DrLoriV.com, www.Facebook.com/DoctorLori, Lori Verderame on Google+ or call (888) 431-1010.

By Lori Verderame

Did you ever buy an antique and the seller left the identification up to you? Oh, the excitement of paying a lot of money for something that is unknown! When put in those terms, it sounds kind of foolish, doesn’t it?

When you go to Wal-Mart to buy something, you know exactly what you are buying. There is no guessing game. The Wal-Mart cashier doesn’t give you tips on how to research that item that you just bought. You know what it is; she knows what it is; everybody knows what it is. That’s the end of it. It should be that way in the antiques world, too. You should know what you are buying.

Many of these proposed tips and testing methods may damage your antiques and could even cause you bodily harm. My favorite antiques testing methods are those that so-called experts suggest, like “Take a match to it” or “Pour acid on it” or “Smell it.” So tell me, what is supposed to happen once you put a match to that piece of Bakelite jewelry or carved ivory statue? Once you pour acid on a coffee grinder, then what? And that collectible Star Wars figurine of Luke Skywalker — what is he supposed to smell like to be valuable?

If it doesn’t burn, is that good? Does it mean you have a piece of ivory or bone? What happens if it does burn? How do you stop the fire from destroying your object? Did that wise person suggesting fire as a testing method reveal that bit of pertinent information when he advised you to “take a match” to your antique? Come on. I am not the only one who knows this is ridiculous.

Here is what I do know… I can tell you with confidence that if your antique burns, then you have a damaged antique! And that damage will decrease its value. Also, by placing a match to a material like a hand mirror made of French ivory could set a fire that will not only burn the hand mirror but all of the bedrooms on the second floor of your house, too. Of course, after the fire department shows up at your house, then you’ll know for certain that your charred hand mirror was in fact a piece of highly flammable French ivory! And some people hold up these folks who told you how to test your antiques as “experts.” Give me a break.

With more than a few books on sculpture under my belt, it is the scratch test that has to be my favorite silly test. People are told to scratch off the patina of a cast metal sculpture as a test of value. Once you scratch the sculpture, you have devalued it significantly. And, if you have a solid piece of bronze, gold or other metal, guess what? You have just scratched at the surface or dug a hole into your valuable sculpture. Now that antique cast sculpture looks like the door panel of your car after some smart-aleck kid keyed it in a parking lot, or like the table leg after your new kitten was left alone in the dining room. Don’t scratch sculpture.

The one test that never fails is taking your questionable antique to me for an honest evaluation — no fire, no damage, no nonsense.