Global Leader Claremont Rug Company Adds Staff, Waiting List to Meet Increased Demand for Rare Carpets

Antique Rug Collectors Continue to Defy Art Market Skeptics
OAKLAND, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Jan David Winitz, founder and president of Claremont Rug Company, today revealed
that because of the continually increasing demand for the best 19th century
art-level antique rugs that he has added eight new members to the buying,
restoration and services departments of his internationally-recognized gallery.

At the same time, Winitz said response to his recent purchases of two
significant private collections has resulted in what he calls "an extremely
gratifying number of sales." It has also added to a "waiting list situation"
among his clients, who were increasingly furnishing their homes with art-level
rugs.

The weaving skills, raw dye materials and associated crafts to create art-level
rugs virtually disappeared by the end of the 19th century. He said, "When rugs
of this quality come to market, the word spreads quickly among aficionados. The
world of collectors and connoisseurs has long recognized that the finest 19th
century carpets share the majesty of other fine art, but at market value levels
well below comparable paintings, sculptures or furniture."

Winitz said that art-level rugs range in value from $20,000 to the mid six
figures. "Frequently clients tell me that they can`t believe the relatively
reasonable pricing for investment-level pieces, compared to other art and
antiques that they also collect."

To work with his global clientele, Winitz reports that he continues to make
staff additions, recently having added three buyers based in Europe as well as
two restorers, working in the U.S.

Winitz also recently announced the acquisition of 150 art-level rugs from
connoisseurs in Illinois and Washington who had displayed the carpets in a total
of five grand homes. "The range of style is incredibly broad because the rugs
were amassed by three generations and the response was immediate and gratifying,
both at our gallery and on our website (www.claremontrug.com)," he said. The
site now contains high resolution jpegs of more than 700 art-level carpets,
including 35 from the new collections.

"Because our clientele comes from around the world and many don`t have the
opportunity to visit our gallery, viewing and purchasing carpets on-line affords
them access to our vast inventory," Winitz said.

At the other end of the selection process are "whole home projects for clients
who are furnishing a primary home or a second residence," he said.

"We are involved in several projects of this type currently, including clients
who have indicated that they are moving from the `furnishing phase` to the
serious collecting stage with rugs. Our two latest collection acquisitions have
created significant interest at this level."

Whole projects generally involve 20-50 rugs individually selected for an
estate-level residence and can take several days to "install." Winitz, who works
either directly with clients or with their interior designers, personally guides
every whole home project.

Winitz, a noted antique rug authority, lecturer and author, founded Claremont
Rug Company in 1980. He acquires the vast majority of the rugs in his inventory
from private collections and estates around the globe. The Claremont Rug Company
inventory consists of more than 3500 pieces, almost exclusively from the 19th
century "Second Golden Age of Persian Weaving."

The Gallery, which numbers as clients nearly three dozen members of the Forbes
Magazine list of global billionaires, was recently cited by The Robb Report Best
of the Best (2009) in the antique dealer category. It was the only Oriental rug
firm selected.

Additionally, Winitz has recently published an essay ("Art-Level Antique Rugs &
How to Recognize Them") in a publication that is provided to policyholders by
the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. Chubb is the world`s leading insurer of
private-owned fine art, jewelry and antiques.

Said Winitz, "Last year, our three-part acquisition of the Hudson River Valley
collection (450 collectible, 19th century rugs) was the largest activity at the
high end of the antique carpet world in more than a decade, and most of that
inventory went directly to the collections of other aficionados whom we have
been consulting for decades."

"While our clients are highly affluent," he said, "they are also
value-conscious. They recognize that as well as being incredibly beautiful,
art-level antique rugs are true art investments that have stood the test of time
and are solid depositories of wealth."

Claremont Rug Company provides a Lifetime Full Exchange Policy. "For one
collector this meant exchanging a large collection for a more limited group of
world-class pieces," Winitz said. "His intention is ultimately to donate the
rugs to a museum."

For Claremont Rug Company
Gary Tobin, 415-256-9490
gptobin2003@yahoo.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009