It's been bought to our attention lately that there exists some confusion around exactly what restoration is. Wallrocks travel personally around the world, two to three times a year and hand pick original, authentic 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th century antiques. As many would know, for the unskilled buyer this task is laden with risk, particularly today when reproductions and fakes are being manufactured on such a large scale. You really do need to know what you're looking for in order to avoid making a potentially expensive mistake.
Wallrocks buy antiques unrestored to ensure that pieces are authentic and have not been changed over time. We offer a restoration service on every piece of furniture that we sell. We often hear notes of alarm in new clients voice when we mention that the price includes restoration. 'Why does it need restoration' is the most common response, and a reasonable one. Restoration does not mean that a piece is damaged, fake, in poor condition or poor quality. If a piece that we have purchased needs restoration, or is unrestored, it simply means that it is most likely in original condition, meaning never been touched. In this case, restoration means cleaning, re-polishing, waxing and making any small and expected repairs to the piece.
Restoration is ALWAYS done in accordance with our clients instructions. So if you want your antique sparkling just like it was designed to when it was fir
st made, then we can do that. However if it's the beautiful patina of age that you love, then we can retain this during the process and we certainly do not do anything during this process that could or would affect a piece's authenticity. That's why we're happy to provide a Certificate of Authenticity with each piece we sell.
The chandelier depicted in the image to the left, was a beautiful 19th century French ormolu chandelier with all its original decoration. The piece was quite literally unrecognisable in the first image as a beautiful light fitting. Wallrocks cleaned the piece, and re-wired it for Australian standards - underneath all the dirt, was this.
If there is a piece on our website you like, and you'd like some idea of what is possible in terms of restoration, simply click here and we'll step you through the process!