Silver Table Services

To see the table sevices we have available Click Here

Knives

You will notice the table services we have for sale do not include knives. Antique knives are very lovely if in good condition but are, on the whole, bad news. If the blades have not been replaced with stainless steel ones, they can look very stained and unhygienic. Also, the solder on the silver handles is liable to crumble after so many years, leading to expensive repairs. Modern knives, made especially for the antiques trade, to match antique table services, are now perfectly acceptable. Most are made so that the blade will not separate from the handle in very hot water and even claim to be dish-washer proof. With use, the brightness of the new silver tones down very quickly to blend in with the antique service

We have modern knives to match all the table services on this web site. They have stainless steel blades and sterling silver handles and the blades are guaranteed not to separate from the handles even in very hot water. The price for 12 table knives + 12 cheese knives, is approximately £700 plus VAT at 17.5% for sales within the EU. The exact price of knives varies with the design and price of silver.

There are three types of table services, or flatware sets, as they are called colloquially:-

Services of whatever design which are made up of pieces which are all by the same maker and all of the same date.
Services which are all by the same maker but have mixed dates.
Services which are of one design but are made up of mixed makers and dates.

Services made up of pieces which are all by the same maker and date

Services over one hundred years old in this category are now extremely difficult to find. Most, but not all, services started off in this category but sadly few have survived.

In the passage of time, as various pieces were lost, or as the size of the service was found to be inadequate, more pieces were bought to fill the gaps at a later date. Even more importantly, when children inherited table services from their parents, these were often split into two or more sections which would leave each child with an insufficient number of tableware pieces. They would be forced to go out and buy whatever pieces were missing in the same design. Sometimes they bought these from the same maker but sometimes they did not. At the time, these were just ordinary eating tools and so buying from the same maker was not particularly important provided the design was the same. For these and other reasons the unity of one maker and date was frequently diluted.

Today, buying a table service which is all one maker and one date is almost an investment piece. You pay a premium price for these sets but you get a premium price if you re-sell. However, should you lose one or more of the pieces, the value of your set will drop dramatically until you find replacements by the same maker and of the same date.

Services all by the same maker but mixed dates.

Services in the second category of same maker but mixed dates are far and away the best buy for anyone who wants to use and enjoy their table service without too much worry. The fact that the service is made by the same maker will ensure that the pieces match well, while the spread of dates will make it much easier to replace pieces.

In the past these sets have increased in value more than mixed sets and should make a good investment..

Services of one design but made up of mixed makers and dates

There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying a table service which is made up of mixed makers and mixed dates so long as it is well matched up.

If you buy from a reputable dealer, on the whole, what you pay for is what you get. You just have to be careful to check a few criteria. Try to make sure that the forks and spoons in each category are a reasonable match in length and, to a lesser degree, width. You cannot ask for more than a reasonable match because antique table services were hand forged. Even cutlery supplied as a set, made by the same maker and of the same date may not match exactly since they might well have been made by different apprentices. In any case, once the silver is laid out round a table, nobody would notice if their neighbour's fork is shorter than their own.

These services are the cheapest to buy and you will get less money for one than services in the other two categories if you should want to re-sell. However, you will get an enormous amount of enjoyment in using these table services and the minimum of worry about losing any of the pieces.

Whichever category you choose, table services are still relatively undervalued and therefore a good investment.

Providing that you avoid
- a set which is thin and whippy
- forks having uneven, ragged, tines
- spoons which have very sharp, thin edges.
you will be able enjoy using an antique silver table service for many years in the knowledge that it will almost certainly be worth more in the future should you ever wish to sell it.

Initials and Crests

The majority of table services available for sale have no initials or crests. However, very little silver cutlery passed through the Georgian and Victorian periods without being engraved either with initials or crests. The fact that these are no longer on the sets to-day is partly because the vendors wanted to be anonymous when selling and partly because a set with another person's initials is not always so appealing to the buyer, particularly when it is a mixture of initials. What one has to be careful of is that the erasure has been well done and that the surface is flat and not scooped out.

Telephone: +44(0)20 7431 0866 Mobile: +44(0)7836 660008 Fax: +44(0)20 7431 3224		Third Floor, Elliott House, 28a Devonshire Street, London, W1G 6PS