What’s the difference: part 3 of 3 No comments yet
In our final installment on comparing Cliffside’s finishes, we will be examining several of our line’s darker finishes — coppers and bronzes. Because Cliffside offers multiple finishes that fall into the “oil-rubbed bronze” category, this part of our line often needs clarification. In this blog, you will read about the old antique, Venetian bronze, old copper, and oil-rubbed bronze finishes. Here now, the definitive guide!
What’s the difference between…
…oil-rubbed bronze and old antique?
Cliffside’s finish named “oil-rubbed bronze” is only available on steel hardware. The knob currently offered in that finish is the S1204 series. The old antique, however, is a very popular finish which is part of our signature line; it is available on all of our solid brass hardware suites, which encompasses a large quantity of items.
The “oil-rubbed bronze” knob available on steel is a very dark finish, nearly a wrought-iron color. Our old antique, by contrast, is a rich brown color, popular throughout the industry. Below, you can make the comparison for yourself:
B600-OA on the left; S1204-ORB on the right
…old antique and Venetian bronze?
As shown above, the old antique is a solid brown representation of oil-rubbed bronze. Our Venetian bronze, the most recent finish added to the Cliffside line, is also oil-rubbed bronze, but it contains a light wash of copper. On pieces with more detailing or raised edges, the copper is more prominent. It also shows dramatically on our cup pulls, which bear a distinctive “thumbprint” of copper which sets the finish apart from the old antique.
Both the old antique (OA) and the Venetian bronze (VB) are available as part of the Cliffside hardware suites; any of our five solid brass hardware collections are available in those finishes.
For your reference, we’ve provided several different comparisons between OA and VB. First, on a simple 100 series knob:
At left, 100-OA; on the right, 100-VB
Next, on the more complex Ice Box Cupboard Latches:
IBCL in OA (left) and VB (right)
Finally, the thumbprinted cup pulls:
K4235-OA (above) and K4235-VB (below)
…Venetian bronze and old copper?
Because both finishes contain a copper color, many customers have asked about the difference between these two finishes since we added Venetian bronze to our line. In the Venetian bronze finish, the dark bronze is the primary color tone, while in the old copper, the copper itself is primary and the dark color comes from the antiquing process.
Both the VB and the OC are signature finishes, so you can get suite hardware in either color. It depends on which look you are trying to match: oil-rubbed bronze or antique copper.
Below, compare an item where the OC and VB finishes look similar…
K344-3-OC (top) and the same item in VB (bottom)
…and another item where they are very distinct and separate.
Solid brass cupboard latch (SBCL) in OC and VB
Cabinetmakers’ bonus!
What’s the difference between OA hinges and AB hinges?
A bonus for our manufacturing friends at the end of this series!
Our antique brass (AB) and old antique (OA) hinge finishes are very similar in color tone. The OA hinges are the same matte brown color as our hardware, but, as noted in our last edition, the AB hinges are also a very dark brown shade. The two major differences are this: the AB finish has a burnished golden undertone, where the OA is a simple brown; and the antique brass hinges have a high-polish lacquer, whereas the old antique hinges sport a flat finish.
See the difference for yourself:
3-8-OFFSET hinge in AB, on the left; and OA, to the right
That’s all for this series; check back next week for the start of a new set of weekly blogs!
