does anyone actually use fine china/crystal/sterling?

[Blenheim]

I''d like to fill in some of the pieces -- we only have 5 salad forks, 4 soup spoons, and 3 iced tea spoons. Any suggestions of how to best go about this? I know that Lady Kemma is great at finding good deals.

 

[diamondfan]

You could try Replacements ltd..they are pretty comprehensive.

I know a woman who wanted to build up her set so her sister gave her pieces as gifts...and over time she build her collection up...and her sister always knew what to give her for a gift...

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 1/2/2007 12:19:40 AM
Author: Blenheim
I'd like to fill in some of the pieces -- we only have 5 salad forks, 4 soup spoons, and 3 iced tea spoons. Any suggestions of how to best go about this? I know that Lady Kemma is great at finding good deals.

wow that repousse is really old, can tell by the knife blade.
love it. you are very lucky. so you are lacking those listed pieces?

ok now that i'm a little more awake. i would first try locally. usually in every town there is a collector who has a place in an antiques mall. i would call local antiques malls first.

I would check pawn shops. The words are "do you have any silver for meltdown?" individual pieces will start coming out of the back room. they may bring out whole sets. pawn shop pieces should be about 5-10 bucks a piece. estate silver is cheap cheap cheap.

replacements is a last resort.

i keep editing my post. that blue willow is valuable . lucky lucky lucky you.

 

[ladykemma]

also beware of "monogram removal". what''s wrong with monograms?

look for idiots who put antique sterling in the dishwasher - (rattling knife blades, weird yellow color)

beware of people who have "dipped" their silver, removed the patina of age. Tarnex anyone? cringe.

and lastly, beware of people who "machine polish their silver to a high finish". removes the antique patina, similar to refinishing antique furniture. Ouch.

 

[Skippy123]

I inherited some fine china. Used it once. I chipped one cup in the diswasher so now I never use it. It is beautiful. My sister uses her china. I guess I am just to lazy and I use my everday Fiesta Wear for everything.

 

[Blenheim]

Thanks for the suggestions -- I may have fun going around the city looking on Thursday. I looked at Replacements last night, but I''m just hoping to get them for a bit less. My tastes don''t exactly run with the current trends, which hopefully is in my favor.

LK, I hate to say this, but some of that silver has gone through the dishwasher.

I have distinct memories of putting some of the knives in to "help" my mom clean up, and her getting just a bit upset with me. I have a feeling that the silver in the dish disposal was also my fault. I''m treating it much, much better now though -- I know better!

Diamondfan, my grandmother got the blue willow that way. She and my grandfather had a friend who was a fairly frequent house guest, and always brought a plate or tea cup or something in the blue willow as a hostess present. (Why don''t I have friends like that?

) She bought the last remaining pieces herself. It''s interesting looking through them, actually -- I can tell that they weren''t all made at the same time. There are slight color variations in the blue, and there''s actually quite a bit of difference in the thickness of the plates even though they''re the same company and pattern.

 

[dtnyc]

Date: 1/2/2007 6:57:21 PM
Author: Blenheim
Thanks for the suggestions -- I may have fun going around the city looking on Thursday. I looked at Replacements last night, but I''m just hoping to get them for a bit less. My tastes don''t exactly run with the current trends, which hopefully is in my favor.

I wouldn''t overlook E-bay- just have a price in mind you are willing to pay and set up a search in your favorites for the pattern name- maybe do one w/ the pattern name and "silver" and one w/ the pattern name and "sterling."
I got 6 fairfax teaspoons for $24- not my pattern but I love it and it''s monogrammed w/ a G which is what our last name begins with- so I couldn''t resist.

Also don''t worry about having put stuff in the dishwasher. I went to an event at Michael C. Fina and Mr. Fina got up and said, it''s Ok to put it in the dishwasher as long as you put the knives all together in one basket section and you don''t mix your sterling and your stainless and you use a mild detergent. He said he put his stuff in the dishwasher and used it everyday.

I have also found a couple placesettings of our china Kate Spade Rutherford Circle - Red - originally I registered for service for 8, then I bumped it to 10 and now that we are married I think- gee should have gone for 12- so I am keeping my eyes peeled and I have my mom trolling the Lenox outlet & warehouse sale for me!
We got accent plates and serving pieces in the Gramercy Park pattern and I grabbed an extra serving new platter off ebay for $30 (retail 110)

then I saw 2 4-piece place settings in yet another complimentary pattern Gramercy Park-Irving place for a 1/3 of retail I won them- I figure they will be fun to throw into the mix!

For the holidays I will out the gramercy park accent plates and pulling out the Kate Spade Festive Peacock stuff- it''s only offered as tid-bit plates, accent plates, mugs and demitasse cups, but it coordinates perfectly with the Red Rutherford Circle.
The accent plate comes in green and white- ideally I would like 6 of each- they come in red as well, but I think the white and green look best w/ what I already have.

Here are the mugs & tidbit plates- which come in a set of 4 1 white, 1 green, 1 red, 1 pink- I got 2 sets for Christmas


Also I got the cake platter- and ornaments(5) fun!



I love how I can mix and match everything and I plan on using this stuff everyday until kids come.

For more formal stuff my mom is giving us her Royal Doulton Burgundy, that I love and she loathes. She originally registered for Royal Doulton Old Colony, got it all and then my evil grandmother exchanged it all while they were on their honeymoon because she didn''t agree w/ my mom''s selection. So I have been picking up pieces of the Old Colony pattern for her on ebay too- I got her the creamer and 2 dinner plates as part of her Christmas present.

 

[Gypsy]

We just moved...and I am in the process of getting rid of a ton of 'stuff' that I had accumulted over the years.

DF was the one who packed it all... and I didn't tell him to wade through the bins and boxes to decide what to keep and what to ditch (its amazing what you'll keep when you have a huge basement just lying there). I have two ENORMOUS bins of stuff I'm tossing and I'm consolidating all my china to only keep the 'quality' pieces. And I'm appalled at how much $$ I've thrown away over the last few years.

My name is Layla and I'm a houseware's junkie.

I've got it all down to my Wedgwood White (most of which is still in NJ as DF was so careful to put it somewhere safe while he was packing everything up that he finally forgot to put it on the truck.) which has place settings for 16... but for which I still need to buy some bowls as well as some select serving pieces for it although there is no rush. DF's grandmother's complete set for 12 (and I mean COMPLETE down to the compote bowls). My grandmother's silver (will have to post pics for Lady K). Various nice serving pieces I've bought here and there. My new flatware (which I love) and my new glasses (so kill me I spurlged on 16 pieces of crystal in December) and my stemware. Oh and the complete sushi/ asian 4 person set I bought for those intimate Sushi making events that have yet to materialize.

I swear I have enough china for two households and I'm barely in my 30's!

I'm planning on picking up the Vera Wang stemware I want (Classic) this year. I think I'm going to limit that to goblets, one wine, and champagne for 12 though.... or 16. Well see... but it's great that Costco is carrying it now.

ETA: Crap... I forgot my silver tea service and serving pieces which I'm storing at my mother's for the time being.

 

[fatafelice]

I love this thread since I am trying to figure out which china I want to register for! Unfortunately, the pattern I think really want, Herend Platinum Edge, doesn''t seem to be available at any major retailers. I don''t know much about Herend, but I completely love this pattern. Its relatively simple, without being too fussy, yet still a little different. If I can''t figure out how to get it, I''ll likely go with something super simple like Wedgwood Sterling, so that it would easily go with other patterns in the future. I''m totally a mix-n-match girl!

I already have a head start in silver, as I have been collecting Schofield Baltimore Rose for a few years. The problem is that it hasn''t been made since about 1920, so it is a challenge to find it sometimes, much less pieces in good shape.

Blenheim, I will tell you, from my experience, that the stuff from Replacements is usually in terrible. Pieces that my mom has gotten me that were supposed to be "no monogram" had just had the monograms removed -- Yuck! Plus, they super polish things, like Lady Kemma said, which is detrimental to a detailed repousse pattern. I have found some good dealers at antique fairs (higher-end ones), who are usually better priced as well. And I have had really good luck on eBay. Just make sure there are good pictures of everything or that you ask a lot of specific questions -- I HATE removed monograms so I always make super-sure that the pieces I am considering don''t have them.

 

[diamondfan]

I love my Bernardaud, but I also mixed in additional chargers by Arte Italica, glass with gorgeous gold rims. They are oversized, so I can even put the charger with my china on top of it, the one that is a solid blue rim with gold. I did the Arte compotes for desserts and their rimmed soups.

I bought some nice Sommelier collection Reidel stemware for different wines and martinis, so I have them for entertaining. This is great during drinks, since they are great quality, and I can use the William Yeoward on my table. I did buy the William Yeoward barware in Cossima, high balls and DOF''s, they are so pretty. I have a ton of Ralph Lauren glenplaid high balls and DOF''s (24 of each) but they are heavy and I think they are great for soda and stuff, I put them in my basement entertainment area, they are tough and hearty versus the Yeoward which is more delicate...

 

[fatafelice]

I thought I would post a pic of my silver pattern for Lady Kemma...

The pattern comes with decorated or undecorated backs. I collect the decorated back pieces. And there is some *gorgeous* matching repousse holloware out there, but so far I haven''t been able to afford any of it!

 

[dtnyc]

Fatafelice-
what is the name of that pattern?

It is gorgeous- I think my grandmother- the evil one who switched my mom's china on her- has it. I am from Baltimore and I know Kirk-Steiff has some patterns similar to that- so many people in Baltimore have it- I know a lot of friends' moms & grandmoms have it.

ETA- I just saw your post w/ the pattern name- how funny is it that the word Baltimore is in the pattern name?

 

[fatafelice]

Dtnyc: Well, it isn''t a coincidence actually... The Schofield silver company was located in Baltimore! A LOT of the estate pieces I have found have come out of Maryland families. The company was purchased by Steiff in the 20s, which is why it bears such a resemblance to their pattern. The key is the three roses at the end of the handle. I personally like it more than the Kirk-Steiff, but I originally fell in love with the pattern because Schofield is a family name (though unfortunately no relation) and I was born in Maryland. I have since found out that the pattern tends to be a favorite of dealers because of its weight and quality. I only wish I could afford to get more pieces. And my family is aggravated that I didn''t pick something they could buy off of a registry for me! LOL

 

[VRBeauty]

Date: 1/5/2007 7:03:41 PM
Author: fatafelice
I love this thread since I am trying to figure out which china I want to register for! Unfortunately, the pattern I think really want, Herend Platinum Edge, doesn''t seem to be available at any major retailers. I don''t know much about Herend, but I completely love this pattern. Its relatively simple, without being too fussy, yet still a little different. If I can''t figure out how to get it, I''ll likely go with something super simple like Wedgwood Sterling, so that it would easily go with other patterns in the future. I''m totally a mix-n-match girl!

I already have a head start in silver, as I have been collecting Schofield Baltimore Rose for a few years. The problem is that it hasn''t been made since about 1920, so it is a challenge to find it sometimes, much less pieces in good shape.

Blenheim, I will tell you, from my experience, that the stuff from Replacements is usually in terrible. Pieces that my mom has gotten me that were supposed to be ''no monogram'' had just had the monograms removed -- Yuck! Plus, they super polish things, like Lady Kemma said, which is detrimental to a detailed repousse pattern. I have found some good dealers at antique fairs (higher-end ones), who are usually better priced as well. And I have had really good luck on eBay. Just make sure there are good pictures of everything or that you ask a lot of specific questions -- I HATE removed monograms so I always make super-sure that the pieces I am considering don''t have them.

Fata: Is that a picture of the Herend Platinum Edge? I can see why you like it -- classic yet distinctive! ***drool***

 

[dtnyc]

Date: 1/5/2007 9:31:02 PM
Author: fatafelice
Dtnyc: Well, it isn''t a coincidence actually... The Schofield silver company was located in Baltimore! A LOT of the estate pieces I have found have come out of Maryland families. The company was purchased by Steiff in the 20s, which is why it bears such a resemblance to their pattern. The key is the three roses at the end of the handle. I personally like it more than the Kirk-Steiff, but I originally fell in love with the pattern because Schofield is a family name (though unfortunately no relation) and I was born in Maryland. I have since found out that the pattern tends to be a favorite of dealers because of its weight and quality. I only wish I could afford to get more pieces. And my family is aggravated that I didn''t pick something they could buy off of a registry for me! LOL

Wow- that is so cool to have such a "historic" and unique pattern.
I didn''t get to choose my sterling pattern, my mom bought me service for 12 in Joan of Arc by International when it was on sale when I was a child. I belive she used my baptism money for it! At least Joan of Arc is a relatively "nuetral" pattern as far as they go. I love the old repousse patterns, but I don''t like any other floral patterns- I am a bit odd that way.

 

[Anastasia]

Blenheim,

My MIL also has repousse! My husband has been telling her for years (as long as I''ve known him) that he would love to have it. We don''t have sterling - I couldn''t justify it because it was so expensive. We do have china and crystal, and do use it. I hope that someday it will be ours!

She had beautiful Lenox china from the 1950''s also. She gave that to my brother in law and his wife, so I''m hoping that the sterling will find it''s way to us! She currently lives in a retirement community, and didn''t want to keep her china (space issues). I think she does use her silver when she hosts bridge.

When I first saw the silver, I wasn''t sure if I liked it, but I have grown to love it over the years. I really love that it means so much to my husband.

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 1/5/2007 6:45:23 PM
Author: dtnyc

Date: 1/2/2007 6:57:21 PM
Author: Blenheim
Thanks for the suggestions -- I may have fun going around the city looking on Thursday. I looked at Replacements last night, but I''m just hoping to get them for a bit less. My tastes don''t exactly run with the current trends, which hopefully is in my favor.

I wouldn''t overlook E-bay- just have a price in mind you are willing to pay and set up a search in your favorites for the pattern name- maybe do one w/ the pattern name and ''silver'' and one w/ the pattern name and ''sterling.''
I got 6 fairfax teaspoons for $24- not my pattern but I love it and it''s monogrammed w/ a G which is what our last name begins with- so I couldn''t resist.

Also don''t worry about having put stuff in the dishwasher. I went to an event at Michael C. Fina and Mr. Fina got up and said, it''s Ok to put it in the dishwasher as long as you put the knives all together in one basket section and you don''t mix your sterling and your stainless and you use a mild detergent. He said he put his stuff in the dishwasher and used it everyday.

actually i strongly disagree, this may be true of modern sterling, but blenheim''s is 100 years old. there is a wooden core in the knife handle. this sterling was designed before there were dishwashers, so i caution against putting antique sterling in the dishawasher. you''ll ruin the knives. rattle, rattle.

i love evrybody''s stuff.

 

[VRBeauty]

Brief hijack for a note to LadyKemma: do you know of any good forums silver collectors? I recently found siver-collector.com. It seems to be fairly new and it has maybe .001 percent of the traffic that PS has, but I sound some good information on it anyway. It seems to be based in Europe. I''d love to find a site that has more participants, and is oriented a bit more towards American labels. Thanks!

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 1/15/2007 9:16:48 PM
Author: MINIMS
Brief hijack for a note to LadyKemma: do you know of any good forums silver collectors? I recently found siver-collector.com. It seems to be fairly new and it has maybe .001 percent of the traffic that PS has, but I sound some good information on it anyway. It seems to be based in Europe. I''d love to find a site that has more participants, and is oriented a bit more towards American labels. Thanks!

i have no idea...

 

[akw94]

Does anyone know of a way to identify crystal? I have many pieces from my grandmother but have no idea if they''re all Waterford (one bowl has the marking on it but glasses don''t--haven''t checked all the other various pieces) or if they''re the same kind or different varieties.
Also, are there sites to buy missing pieces of china? I read about Replacements and wonder if there are others. I''d love to put that sort of thing on my registry. I have a lot of china and silver from my grandmother too that I''d like to complete.

Thanks!

 

[janinegirly]

a interesting side topic to this thread--went to an outlet this wkend and spotted tons of "typical" registry china (lenox, wedgwood). the lenox in particular were available in "second quality" at 40% off! I couldn''t spot anything wrong with them. Seems to be an economical way to stock up on china, and if it''s not used often, what''s wrong w/2nd quality. And means you don''t have to put the bulk on the registry I suppose.

 

[firebirdgold]

That''s how I got my good china! Mikasa had a warehouse in Long Beach(?) where it''s shipments would come in. They had a ton of stuff there on sale for great prices. I can''t remember exactly what the deal was, but I do have a vauge memory of having to wait for our turn to go in so it might have been a once in a while sale. There''s nothing visibly wrong with my china, and outlets are a great way to go!

 

[diamondfan]

As I stated a while back, I got all new china, crystal and silver. I LOVE my stuff, used it a couple of times since I got it and I am loving it...

 

[winternight]

I have some Waterford crystal that we use all the time for wine glasses - its really sturdy, some of the more delicate glasses that I''ve liked tend to break easily (could just be me). I lost about 6 pieces of a lovely Orrfors pattern that way. Although the gold on my Waterford has faded (I''ve talked to them about a replacement, hopefully that will go through). So in my experience I don''t think I''d recommend a gold/platinum rim on glasses if you''re using them alot - we only handwashed them too.

We''re going to register for china, but I have a bunch of sterling from when I worked in a department store - bought a box of it from my manager before he threw it out for .....$10! I think I have about 4 or 5 sets of Gorham in there along with a couple of serving pieces, definitely a gravy ladle and I can''t remember what else. So my question is if you were me would you finish out the Fairfax? I''m not crazy about it. Or should I sell the lot on Ebay (there are a couple of other individual sets in there) and put it towards the pattern I''m obsessed with (and have been since forever) Tiffany Audubon?

My stemware is Carina from Waterford (well if they change it out) and my plates will likely be a simple white china with a platinum band. So I would like a dressier silverpattern than Fairfax.

http://www.onlinesterling.com/proddetail.asp?prod=fairfax

Can''t seem to copy a picture.

And here is Audubon

http://cgi.ebay.com/TIFFANY-AUDUBON-STERLING-SILVER-PLACE-SETTING_W0QQitemZ230100401129QQihZ013QQcategoryZ20113QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The thing that is killing me is that I know I can pick up a full set of sterling at a better price at auction - its just that one of our guests has already told us that she''ll be buying us something in silver, and frankly I don''t want a modern silver serving piece (like a tray) they''re just too plain - I prefer the antiques! Other than a few close friends and family members I''m not sure that the Audubon isn''t too expensive (I''m a little shy about putting something so pricey on the registry).

I think the other option would be to find Audubon at auction and then register for the remaining pieces that I''d like.

Any advice?? Lady Kemma? You are the expert!

 

[janinegirly]

anyone know about lenox stemware? much cheaper..but is it decent?

 

[blushingbride]

Date: 1/5/2007 7:03:41 PM
Author: fatafelice
I love this thread since I am trying to figure out which china I want to register for! Unfortunately, the pattern I think really want, Herend Platinum Edge, doesn''t seem to be available at any major retailers. I don''t know much about Herend, but I completely love this pattern. Its relatively simple, without being too fussy, yet still a little different. If I can''t figure out how to get it, I''ll likely go with something super simple like Wedgwood Sterling, so that it would easily go with other patterns in the future. I''m totally a mix-n-match girl!

I already have a head start in silver, as I have been collecting Schofield Baltimore Rose for a few years. The problem is that it hasn''t been made since about 1920, so it is a challenge to find it sometimes, much less pieces in good shape.

Blenheim, I will tell you, from my experience, that the stuff from Replacements is usually in terrible. Pieces that my mom has gotten me that were supposed to be ''no monogram'' had just had the monograms removed -- Yuck! Plus, they super polish things, like Lady Kemma said, which is detrimental to a detailed repousse pattern. I have found some good dealers at antique fairs (higher-end ones), who are usually better priced as well. And I have had really good luck on eBay. Just make sure there are good pictures of everything or that you ask a lot of specific questions -- I HATE removed monograms so I always make super-sure that the pieces I am considering don''t have them.

Fatafelice - my pattern is very similar to yours - I am registered at Michael C. Fina and they carry it (not sure what part of the country you''re in). It''s called, Marie Antoinette Platinum, by Raynaud. I love it!!!! It''s sooo classic and elegant! It compliments the china pattern which was inherited from my grandmother so, I''m very psyched.

 

[blushingbride]

We are also registering for everyday dishes at Michael C. Fina. Pics below (I love the clean and modern feel to these)

They are called E.Motion Lemon Grass by Rosenthal!

 

[blushingbride]

BUT - the coolest thing about registering at Michael C. Fina is that they carry the sterling silver which I inherited from my Great Aunt who got married in 1929!! She gave us a full set which are in excellent condition and each piece is engraved with an M (for her last name) which is also the first initial of my FI''s last name!! What a nice coincidence??? Here''s the pattern - we are order a few pieces which we weren''t included in her set like a cake server and knife, etc. It''s called Lunt - Modern Victorian.

 

[blushingbride]

Date: 3/6/2007 4:21:21 PM
Author: blushingbride
BUT - the coolest thing about registering at Michael C. Fina is that they carry the sterling silver which I inherited from my Great Aunt who got married in 1929!! She gave us a full set which are in excellent condition and each piece is engraved with an M (for her last name) which is also the first initial of my FI''s last name!! What a nice coincidence??? Here''s the pattern - we are order a few pieces which we weren''t included in her set like a cake server and knife, etc. It''s called Lunt - Modern Victorian.

Not sure if that pic came out since I can''t see it - will try again.

 

[Gypsy]

I LOVE Fairfax! It''s one of the heaviest settings.. so one of the priciest. If you aren''t sold on it, definitely sell it. There is a good demand for it out there... and if you sell it for a good price you can get other sterlking you like better. I do wonder if Ebay is the way to go though... or if consignment is better. Lady K would know that.



On a personal note: When we moved to CA three months ago I donated all my ''not fine'' pieces. We currently use only our Wedgwood china, our new flatware, and some new glasses I bought... and our crystal.

And it''s WONDERFUL. Everyday when we sit down to dinner we use our good serving pieces and our good china and flatware... and it looks so nice and elegant. It brings a smile to my face and makes dinner a really special affair... even if we are just having some pasta or a nice salad with chicken. When I have a glass of wine, I use my crystal and it just makes the experience that much better.

I''m so glad I donated the rest of my stuff... someone else will be able to use it and I don''t have any excuse to not use the good stuff. I never want to be one of those people who has all thier nice stuff in the cabinet collecting dust.

Even DF''s grandmother''s china, which would be really difficult to replace gets used whenever we have family over. There''s no point in having it all, and not using it.

Fairfax is the sterling pattern I want, actually.