You will often see the words vintage and antique used interchangeably when describing older items. Sometimes the definitions become a little blurred and are not always used correctly.  Here's a few guidelines to help distinguish the difference.

The site, Ruby Lane has an excellent definition for vintage. - An item described as vintage should speak of the era in which it was produced. Vintage can mean an item is of a certain period of time, as in vintage 1950's - but it can also mean (and probably always should) that the item exhibits the best of a certain quality, or qualities, associated with or belonging to that specific era. In other words, for the term vintage to accurately apply to it, an item should be somewhat representational and recognizable as belonging to the era in which it was made.

An example is a lava lamp that was made in the 1960's would be considered vintage. One that is made today would not be. An item that is less than 20 years old should not be referred to as vintage.

 Antique is more commonly referred to an item that is at least 100 years old and is of good quality, craftsmanship, and beauty, cultural or historical significance. There are a few things such as cars, which are generally considered antiques if they are 25 years or older.

The US government does not consider rugs from Iran and Iraq to be antiques unless they were made prior to 1700.  As you can guess, these two countries disagree and use the 100 year rule for their rugs.

So, is the item vintage or antique? Hopefully these guidelines will help you to determine the difference. 

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