*+*+*+*~The Silver Thread~*+*+*+*

[AGBF]

*+*+*+*~The Silver Thread~*+*+*+*​

The thread below about part of her silver collection became an immediate senstion, so rather than highjack JewelFreak's thread I thought I would start a new thread on silver. If anyone has any questions on flatware or holloware or vintage or modern silver jewelry, please post it here. Please, also, post any finds you have! I am hoping that silver lovers can congregate here the way gold lovers have congregated in The Gold Thread!

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/a-corner-of-my-silver-shop.182750/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/a-corner-of-my-silver-shop.182750/[/URL]

Deb/AGBF

 

[AGBF]

LOVE your silver. All really gorgeous. Tell me, do you have any cutlery?

I'd love to get some silver cutlery for us. We have some beautiful chinaware and crystal but no silver cutlery. Do you happen to know where I may be able to get a set, without having to pay a fortune?

(I am actually a cheapskate, believe or not, I bought the chinaware and crystal at the store sale & expat sale - got them for very good prices and the quality is *amazing*).

I copied this posting by Phoenix from JewelFreak's thread, hoping to keep from threadjacking that one. I saw that her posting has already been answered in the other thread, however. Hey...I am but one person. I can't run the world.

Deb

 

[AGBF]

This is the story of how with the help of some Pricescopers I discovered more about-and more of-my mother's Georg Jensen silver jewelry and accessories.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/georg-jensen-jewelry.25634/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/georg-jensen-jewelry.25634/[/URL]

Deb/AGBF

 

[Rosebloom]

Great idea for a new thread!

Here was my response to Phoenix on the previous thread:

Pheonix wrote:
LOVE your silver. All really gorgeous. Tell me, do you have any cutlery?

I'd love to get some silver cutlery for us. We have some beautiful chinaware and crystal but no silver cutlery. Do you happen to know where I may be able to get a set, without having to pay a fortune?

(I am actually a cheapskate, believe or not, I bought the chinaware and crystal at the store sale & expat sale - got them for very good prices and the quality is *amazing*).

Phoenix,

There are fabulous deals to be had on sterling cutlery at estate sales. Also small antique stores can be good. I've seen some amazing deals on eBay too! If you happen to like the idea of mixed patterns you can really get a steal but collecting a few place settings at a time in patterns that appeal to you. Also monogrammed pieces go for much less. Sometimes I've thought it would be fun to get a set all monogrammed in different letters - but I have waaaaay too much and am not allowed to start a new set!

 

[JewelFreak]

Also places where you can buy pieces to fill in patterns where you're missing a piece -- you can buy more than that if you want to. They have them for china too. Consignment shops are a great place to find flatware, and antique/collectables shows.

Deb, now I'm confused where to answer questions from the other thread!

 

[JewelFreak]

Aww, boo, LV -- I answered your post without seeing your update! Hilarious -- here's my response from the other thread.

LV, are you sure nothing sits on the little trays? As if they were kind of saucers? Sometimes little containers, like mustard pots or salt dishes, come with saucers to go underneath. If not -- they could be ashtrays. From about the 20s to the 60s, some hostesses put tiny individual ashtrays by each place; I've seen them in crystal or silver. You may even find a matching cigarette box -- those usually have lids but not always. Can't think what else they might be.

Go through the stuff & see what you find! Sounds like a cool hour or two -- & interesting stuff for PS too.

--- Laurie

 

[KittyGolightly]

Oh, I'm so happy with this thread!

AGBF, aren't you the one with the complete set of Tiffany Faneuil? Any chance we could see a pic?

 

[AGBF]

Oh, I'm so happy with this thread!

AGBF, aren't you the one with the complete set of Tiffany Faneuil? Any chance we could see a pic?

I do have Faneuil coming out of my ears...but as I don't use it, it is in the safety deposit box. I photographed a few pieces of my mother's Frontier Plain a few years ago, but I never photographed any of my Faneuil since it is modern and readily available for photographs in stores and can be found in photos on the Internet. I always used to think I should just use it...but right now i am not even living in my own house! I appreciate your asking, though.

PS-Faneuil was the pattern my mother's best friend in college had chosen. I remember that. My mother told me when I chose it that although she had gone with Georg Jensen, that Janet had chosen Faneuil by Tiffany.

Deb/AGBF

 

[AGBF]

Here is a photo of a place setting of my mother's Fronier Plain by Georg Jensen.

AGBF

 

[JewelFreak]

Elegant lines & proportion, Deb. Jensen does that so beautifully. I think the company is still family-owned iirc. Sounds awkward at the moment, but as soon as you can, you should use your Tiff stuff. It's a shame to have it languishing at the bank!

--- Laurie

 

[justginger]

I don't own any silver - both of my parents grew up fairly poor, so not a chance of inheriting any of it either. I love the look of it, but DH and I are casual folk. I'm not sure we'd get much use out of it. But...is it something that gets used? Or just looked at?

 

[Loves Vintage]

Aww, boo, LV -- I answered your post without seeing your update! Hilarious -- here's my response from the other thread.

LV, are you sure nothing sits on the little trays? As if they were kind of saucers? Sometimes little containers, like mustard pots or salt dishes, come with saucers to go underneath. If not -- they could be ashtrays. From about the 20s to the 60s, some hostesses put tiny individual ashtrays by each place; I've seen them in crystal or silver. You may even find a matching cigarette box -- those usually have lids but not always. Can't think what else they might be.

Go through the stuff & see what you find! Sounds like a cool hour or two -- & interesting stuff for PS too.

--- Laurie

Thanks, Laurie! Haha! I was thinking they were some cute little butter dishes or something. Ashtrays are not on my radar. Still need to figured out what the box is for. Now that I think of it, probably was for holding the trays. I think it's wood inside. If it were for jewelry, it would have been lined.

I will take photos at some point, nevertheless. I am sure there is more silver. None of it polished. What's a girl to do?

 

[movie zombie]

I don't own any silver - both of my parents grew up fairly poor, so not a chance of inheriting any of it either. I love the look of it, but DH and I are casual folk. I'm not sure we'd get much use out of it. But...is it something that gets used? Or just looked at?

ditto. i was given silver plate....and i feel lucky to have it. seems that some can't afford even that now. and my daughter didn't even know i had it because i never used it.....and i still don't: i haven't looked at it in years. stored properly though.

 

[AGBF]

I don't own any silver - both of my parents grew up fairly poor, so not a chance of inheriting any of it either. I love the look of it, but DH and I are casual folk. I'm not sure we'd get much use out of it. But...is it something that gets used? Or just looked at?

I think that really depends on the mentality of the silver owner. One of my closest friends, now deceased, with whom I taught school used hers every day. It was just a part of life. (I am referring to her flatware.) I would like to live that way, too, but only with the pieces that one uses everyday. I actually cannot even remember all the esoteric pieces I have! I mean, I know I didn't buy fish knives or anything, but my mother advised me to buy at least two teaspoons for each place setting (which I did). Each place setting also has a cream soup spoon. And I believe I bought steak knives as well as dinner knives and butter spreaders. And I think I have demitasse spoons. And I really cannot even recall what all else!

If I start to use it everyday, I will take out only two forks, a spoon, and a knife!

Deb/AGBF

 

[chrono]

I was gifted with a complete jewellery set (brooch, earrings, necklace and bracelet) made of silver wire, carefully shaped into flowers, with (I think the pearls are fake) pearls and engraving by someone in my family. I'll have to nremember to take pictures of the set this weekend.

 

[JewelFreak]

Most of the really nice silver I have was wedding presents to my parents. Those were the days! A few other things came from grandparents after they died -- none of them (except one grandfather who spent it as fast as he made it) had any money either, so I've wondered how they acquired them. Maybe wedding gifts too. (Wish they'd spent it on jewelry instead!)

I have some items out because they're so pretty & I like looking at them. Used to use the flatware more than I do now; we don't entertain as much here as we did in other places we've lived. Mine has to be hand-washed so I don't use it every day. I did use it & the good china even if people were in jeans, simply because I was lucky enough to own it & it is a great pleasure to me to look at a beautiful table. The gleam of silver in candlelight is special.

Deb -- love the oddball pieces in vintage sets! Mine has sporks -- spoons with little tines for eating ice cream & cake with one utensil -- and demitasse spoons too, bouillon spoons w/the round bowls, butter knives, salad and dinner forks, 4 big serving spoons. My (mother's) pattern doesn't include cream soup spoons or steak knives. No fish knives either, thank goodness, less to store & polish. I have other odds & ends -- shell-shaped Sheffield salt dishes for each place, so pretty, as well as 2 bigger salt dishes with blue glass liners & the CUTEST teeny eensy salt spoons (I want to play dolls with them!) & tall pepper shakers shaped like sugar casters. I haven't used those ever.

LV -- you know what? Those could be what they used to call "butter pats." I remember some china ones of my grandmother's about that size. They went by each place instead of a regular bread & butter plate, with a square of butter on them. That's another possibility.

--- Laurie

 

[Rosebloom]

I don't own any silver - both of my parents grew up fairly poor, so not a chance of inheriting any of it either. I love the look of it, but DH and I are casual folk. I'm not sure we'd get much use out of it. But...is it something that gets used? Or just looked at?

We are casual too, but we use our silver (sterling and plate - its gotten a little mixed up) cutlery every day! I just throw it in the dishwasher. I know some will shudder at the thought but I feel like its meant to be used and if I had to hand wash it I wouldn't use it as often. It makes every meal feel special to me. My husband loves to polish silver (bless him!) so he does it every month or so. In fact in the other thread someone mentioned their favorite silver polish which I bought for my hubby's stocking! He'll be thrilled!

 

[AGBF]

I have other odds & ends -- shell-shaped Sheffield salt dishes for each place, so pretty, as well as 2 bigger salt dishes with blue glass liners & the CUTEST teeny eensy salt spoons (I want to play dolls with them!) & tall pepper shakers shaped like sugar casters. I haven't used those ever.

I already envied you your silver-although it couldn't belong to a nicer more worthy woman, Laurie-but this descrption of all the flatware you have is making me absolutely drool! I hope that someday I can visit your home and see your your silver!

And don't get me started on that blue glass! Before I was married, I hosted a bridal shower for my best friend at a brownstone apartment in New York City where I was living with a roomate while I was in graduate school. She had been married (and divorced) twice already and had wonderful silver, which she generously lent me to use for my friend's shower! I remember falling in love with the cobalt blue liners of her little silver salt cellars and other dishes. When I got married, she gave me some as a wedding gift! So somewhere I have two tiny sterling salt cellars with blue glass liners and tiny spoons as short or shorter than toothpicks, but with a little shovels at the end, too!

Deb

 

[chrono]

I took these in a hurry so they aren't the best. The silver also looks yellower, probably due to the background fabric.

 

[chrono]

These three are very well matched in design.

 

[chrono]

I thought a black background might make silver easier to photograph and I was right!

 

[AGBF]

Oh, Chrono, they are gorgeous!!! You simply have the best jewelry on Pricescope! Between your high karat gold and your red stones, I was already in awe of what you own. Now I find that you have been hiding silver pieces as well! Simply delicious!!! Wow!!!

Deb

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Beautiful, Chrono!

Well, I had a sterling Reed and Barton silver service (tea/coffee set), but I sold it maybe a year or so ago when silver was so high. I decided I would rather put the money towards jewelry since I never used it! I also have a second set that is nice quality silver plate, so if I had the unusual need for it, I could use that one. I am not polishing it for pictures, though!

I also was fortunate to have a lot of my sterling flatware given to me by my aunt and grandmother. So I ended up with around 14 place settings and many serving pieces and odd pieces as well. The pattern is Melrose by Gorham, and although I wouldn't choose it now, it is heavy flatware and I might be afraid to know what it is worth.

I also have a pair of Towle sterling candelabras with triple candle holders.

I think most of my other things are silverplate. I rarely use any of the silver other than the flatware on special occasions like holidays or a shower or something.

If people are posting pictures, I can try to take a picture of flatware tomorrow. I suppose it would be a good idea to have a record of it anyway. Here is a picture I took of the silver service before I sold it (without the tray).

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I want to add that my aunt loved Tiffany Shell and Thread and just bought herself one piece (she never married)! I have it now and SO wish I had gone with that pattern. As far as I can recall, I probably didn't since it was more expensive. You can see in the picture above that my dining room chairs have the shell carvings, so it would be so wonderful to have that silver. I really can't think of selling my set to buy another because of the sentimental issues, but I still wish I had the Shell and Thread! (She had the luncheon size fork which is prettier than the dinner fork IMO, though.)

http://www.tiffany.com/shopping/Categorybrowse.aspx?cid=130409

 

[AGBF]

I want to add that my aunt loved Tiffany Shell and Thread and just bought herself one piece (she never married)! I have it now and SO wish I had gone with that pattern. As far as I can recall, I probably didn't since it was more expensive. You can see in the picture above that my dining room chairs have the shell carvings, so it would be so wonderful to have that silver. I really can't think of selling my set to buy another because of the sentimental issues, but I still wish I had the Shell and Thread! (She had the luncheon size fork which is prettier than the dinner fork IMO, though.)

http://www.tiffany.com/shopping/Categorybrowse.aspx?cid=130409

The Shell and Thread is lovely, DS, but as you can see in my family we tend to go for the plainer patterns! I do not know how you could bear to part with your coffee and tea service...and yet I am selling (or hoping to sell) all my favorite jewelry right now! We do what we do.

Please, please post pictures of your flatware! I love to see the silver that others have and I'd especially love to see more of yours!

Deb

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I will get a couple of pics today, Deb. I looked in the silver chest last night and I have so many little pieces like the salt spoons and tomato servers and that kind of thing! The pattern (Melrose) has flowers on it and I am not so fond of it, but it goes extremely well with my mother's old Lenox pattern, and it still is fine with my fine china and another pattern I have. So I can use it.

But, I am seriously thinking of at least getting 6 luncheon settings of the Shell and Thread because my breakfast room is not in the kitchen and I think the more simple Shell and Thread would go better with my Spode Christmas china and my fruit Villeroy and Boch pattern. Yes, I have a lot of china and I hope I have about 6 granddaughters!

It could have been dumb to sell the sterling tea set, but I think the days of teas are over. I figured my girls would just sell the tea set, so I figured I would sell it and enjoy the proceeds myself!!!

This may be for a different thread, but what jewelry are you selling? Are you listing it here? You surely aren't selling the red spinel???

 

[AGBF]

I will get a couple of pics today, Deb. I looked in the silver chest last night and I have so many little pieces like the salt spoons and tomato servers and that kind of thing! The pattern (Melrose) has flowers on it and I am not so fond of it, but it goes extremely well with my mother's old Lenox pattern, and it still is fine with my fine china and another pattern I have. So I can use it.

But, I am seriously thinking of at least getting 6 luncheon settings of the Shell and Thread because my breakfast room is not in the kitchen and I think the more simple Shell and Thread would go better with my Spode Christmas china and my fruit Villeroy and Boch pattern. Yes, I have a lot of china and I hope I have about 6 granddaughters!

It could have been dumb to sell the sterling tea set, but I think the days of teas are over. I figured my girls would just sell the tea set, so I figured I would sell it and enjoy the proceeds myself!!!

This may be for a different thread, but what jewelry are you selling? Are you listing it here? You surely aren't selling the red spinel???

I, also, have the Spode Christmas Tree china...and I almost bought the Villeroy and Boch fruit pattern after having been given the chance to start a set when when my husband's uncle passed away and we were given a chance to take his aunt and uncle's partial set of china. (In the end I passed on it. I have china everywhere, just everywhere. I keep trying to get rid of it but I have lovely sets!)

As to what I am selling jewelry wise-I suspect you are right and that that should be in a separate thread. This thread is already getting threadjacked by forays into our china and other non-silver topics!!!

Hugs,
Deb

 

[JewelFreak]

Chrono, your jewelry is just gorgeous, and so unusual. What is the background on it? As usual, great photography too.

DS, I think your reasoning on selling the tea set makes a lot of sense. I'm considering parting with some of my stuff for exactly the same reason. If somebody's going to do what they enjoy (or need) w/the proceeds, it ought to be me since I've polished & loved it all these years.

Some has no artistic value, but I would HATE to see other things melted down for the sheer silver value, so whenever I do it, will take care to choose a venue where it would be re-sold for its own beauty.

Beautiful silver pieces are often victims of high value in bad economic times. I've read about gorgeous historic pieces that were lost when buyers melted them. Heartbreaking.

DS, put up pics of your candelabras, I'd love to see them! I need to research the candlesticks in my photo on the other thread, the taller column-like ones. They came from an antique shop in Amsterdam when we lived there. I went nuts over them in the window but didn't even ask the price, knowing it would be too much -- we were just married at the time. Come Christmas, there they were under the tree. Sweet new DH. They're English & probably Victorian, that's all I know. Hallmarks should tell more.

I remember falling in love with the cobalt blue liners of her little silver salt cellars and other dishes. When I got married, she gave me some as a wedding gift! So somewhere I have two tiny sterling salt cellars with blue glass liners and tiny spoons as short or shorter than toothpicks, but with a little shovels at the end, too!

How neat, Deb! What a thoughtful gift. I adore those blue-glass liners too. Cobalt, yeah, that's what they are. Aren't the eensy spoons the most fun? (I adore miniatures -- would LOVE to make dollhouses but know I'd get obsessed & spend the mortgage, seriously.) You're welcome any time -- we can play with gems -- bring yours, they're better than mine -- and wee spoons!

--- Laurie

 

[Fly Girl]

This sterling silver geranium leaf dish was a gift to my DH from me on the occasion of our 25th wedding anniversary. He uses it to hold his wedding band when working in the kitchen. This thread inspired me to give it a little spiff-up. His wedding bands, from top to bottom: rough yellow diamond set in Damascus steel and platinum, rough cube-shaped brown diamond also set in Damascus steel and platinum, brown and white diamonds set in 14kt yellow gold, all three from Stephen Vincent Design, and finally a George Sawyer Mokume band lined in red gold.

 

[JewelFreak]

Super present, FG, and what handsome rings! I love it when a man has a choice of rings. And a silver dish to put them in!

--- Laurie