Silverware history lesson
Feb. 6th, 2016 11:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flexagonWhen I posted about the ring I took from Grammy's estate, I said it was somewhat steampunk and reminded me of a spoon handle.
A few days after that, I noticed engraving inside the ring. I thought it might be her initials or a personalized inscription, but it said "Old Master", and I started to wonder if it was a sample of a real silverware pattern. Turns out that yes, it is.
Everything online about "spoon rings" is about making them from old spoons, but Grammy didn't make this. Both ends are finished and the band was never cut. It also says "TOWLE STERLING PAT", and here is someone selling my exact ring on Etsy for $65.
"Note: The spoon rings I offer here on Etsy are not reproductions. They are from the original manufacturer."
So... this used to be a thing, I guess, silverware manufacturers creating these tiny things as ornaments or samples. I don't think they do that anymore.
A few days after that, I noticed engraving inside the ring. I thought it might be her initials or a personalized inscription, but it said "Old Master", and I started to wonder if it was a sample of a real silverware pattern. Turns out that yes, it is.
This graceful pattern designed by master silversmith Harold E. Nock is styled in the Old Victorian tradition, with refined lines and a restrained decoration popular in the early Victorian era. Introduced in 1942, it features a distinctive violin-shaped handle, a crown of curling leaves, a center rosette with tapering tendrils, and scrolls and flutes along the handle.
Everything online about "spoon rings" is about making them from old spoons, but Grammy didn't make this. Both ends are finished and the band was never cut. It also says "TOWLE STERLING PAT", and here is someone selling my exact ring on Etsy for $65.
"Note: The spoon rings I offer here on Etsy are not reproductions. They are from the original manufacturer."
So... this used to be a thing, I guess, silverware manufacturers creating these tiny things as ornaments or samples. I don't think they do that anymore.
