SOLID SILVER HORSE & RIDER LETTER OPENER (1)
FULLY HALLMARKED SILVER HORSE AND RIDER LETTER OPENER. MAKER C J VANDER. LONDON. ORIGINAL BOX. 1982.
FINE AND ACCURATE DETAIL. WEIGHTED AND BALANCED TO SIT PERFECTLY IN THE HAND.
WEIGHT 91gm. A QUALITY ITEM.
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PRICE: POA
Ref: LA5
The World Renown Luxury Silver Company, C J Vander Limited, has closed its doors for good, ending a long tradition of quality handcrafted Sterling Silver Cutlery, and holloware. CJ Vander was England's most pre-eminent Silversmith firm, creating only the finest examples of English Silver using the forsaken handcrafts of the Silversmithing art. They created flatware and holloware for Royalty and Nobility throughout Europe and were also one of the few remaining English cutlery(flatware) makers who employed the age old method of hand forging flatware;a process wherin each piece of flatware starts out as an ingot and is formed by a smith using a hammer. This process would take hours for each piece and required great skill. After the pieces were forged they would be planished, hand polished, drop hammer decorated and then hand polished again. A process that is no longer practical for many Silver firms, but always ensures a product that has superior weight and quality. CJ Vandercreated what was known as the world's most expensive flatware pattern: the chased vine in gold flatware set, now valued at well over $1,000,000.00. CJV was also famous for their cast and hand chased Sterling silver sculptures ranging in size from 2 inches to 24 inches (the famed centerpiece swan, which is used at the Williamsburg Inn). The firm was purchased by the now bankrupt Syratech Corp.;which managed to destroy Towle Silversmiths, Wallace Silversmiths and International Silversmiths. They were rescued from Syratech by former employees of Vanders who decided toreturn the company to its traditional management. Alas, due to increasing metal prices, the decline in the demand for hand crafted quality dining wares, and a slumping economy, C.J.Vander has ceased manufacturing. The year 2007 is the last year that the CJV Ltd hallmark will ever be used on a piece of handcrafted Sheffield Sterling Silver. It truly is an end of an era in English Silversmithing