HISTORY
Yet another "special" item that we have been requested to seek a new home for by our extended family.
Why special?
Unlike most of the Silverware we have had or been asked to find new homes for, this piece is NOT Silverplate but in fact this is Hallmarked Sterling Silver (the top caps at least!) AND not from England but from across the channel in France
The silversmith Christofle is a name celebrated for very high quality Gold and Silver products in the style of French elegance. Founded by Charles Christofle in 1830 with notable acquisitions of other esteemed Silversmith's during the years, particularly that of Cardeilhac in 1950. Cardeilhac were makers of fine precious metal items to both Louis-Phillipe & Napoleon III royalty. The original CC makers mark was replaced in later years by the OC mark, which represents Orfèvre Christofle. After all these years, over 195 in fact, Christofle's is STILL going strong with their extensive product range of modern "French Classic" styling of their offerings but WARNING! by all means take a good look around their website but you will need very deep pockets for many of their items - high quality does not come cheap!
It should be understood that these small (actually very small) salt & pepper shakers and just that, salt and pepper shakers with not a lot of appeal to me personally BUT the history behind the maker is of much greater importance.
This four piece salt & pepper shaker set dates from the 1970's and has many distinguishing marks pointing back to the earlier history of the silversmith's, Christofle.
It comes with the original round presentation box, this box having a wooden base and a constructed cardboard top section, much like a "hat box" which measures 100mm diameter x 50mm height.
The top of the box references Cardeilhac, while each salt & pepper shaker has the OC makers mark (with what appear to be the 3 stars although this is EXTREMELY difficult to see, we are talking extremely small stamping here!) and each shaker glass (not crystal) body has the Orfèvre mark impressed into the glass underside, a long with the word Christofle.
Of course the Silver purity is indicated on the top of each shaker cap, 925 (used from the 1970's onwards) This indicates The metal has been tested as being Sterling Silver, with a purity of .925, being a mixture of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper. This is NOT Fine silver, 99.9% pure silver, because pure Silver is relatively soft and not as durable as Sterling Silver. By the addition of a very small amount of copper, this gives the metal enough strength and hardness to be worked into jewellery, decorative and household objects.
Let's down to the description ...
CHRISTOFLE - Salt & Pepper Set (4)
Viva la France! Designed and made in France
Circa 1970's - although not date marked, this estimate is based on the use of the 925 mark and the general condition of the packaging in particular. I believe the reference to the acquisition of Cardeilhac (on top of the box) is a purely historical reference to their acquisition in 1950, this just does not look like a 1950's product.
Sterling Silver (925)
Four salt & pepper shakers which sit within a round wooden base (Black finish) and a round Olive Green cardboard top lid.
The shakers are SMALL, this is how small ...
41mm (1.6") height x 27mm (1") diameter at the widest point of the bulbous glass body. The weight of each shaker is just 22g, of which the Sterling Silver screw on top cap adds a further 2g
If numbers are not your "thing", imagine a "standard" English shaker and shrink it to about half that size - this is a rough guide to how small these are.
The size of the shaker is intentional and these are in no way "toy or doll set shakers"! In French dining, adding condiments at the table is common and using small shakers allows for personal adjustment without overwhelming the dish - none of those "Woopsie, I think I just dumped a load of Salt on my Snail!"
Another distinctive feature is the holes in the top cap, the French did not make use of single holes and these shakers all have the same number and size of holes in the cap. French table salt was traditionally coarser and pepper being more of a luxury spice, so both needed careful, controlled dispensing from a similar number of openings in the top cap.
HALLMARKS
As you would expect, hallmarks abound on these shakers ... the top screw on cap has two marks stamped into the cap, one being 925 and the other is the OC mark within a shield. Both of these stampings are EXTREMELY small but I have done my utmost to show them in the photographs. The top cap metal is very thin also, at just an estimated 0.5mm thick (according to my micrometer) and this means the stamped marks actually show through on the inside of the top cap as well.
The shaker body is glass, plain clear and I do not believe these to be crystal. The underside has two imprints into the glass, these being CHRISTOFLE and ORFEVRERIE PLUS "something else"
Something else? ... between the imprints on the underside is a single numeral, also imprinted. There is a single digit on each shaker, no shaker having the same number as any other e.g 3, 5, 7 & perhaps a 1 (it is difficult to work out the character!) I have absolutely no idea what these may mean and can find no references to these digits imprinted on Christofle Silver wares or glass products at all
COSMETIC CONDITION:
The extended family members who asked me to find new owners for these obviously looked after these!
The outer packing is in amazing condition (considering the age) quite frankly. No damage of any consequence to the top cardboard lid and the wooden base is completely undamaged.
Inside the packaging, the shakers are also in great condition. None of the glass bodies have damage of any kind and none are discoloured by previous contents. I have actually cleaned these "soap n water" to ensure they are clean and sterile.
The screw on top caps are in great condition, none are mis-shaped and all screw onto the glass body thread very nicely. The Sterling Silver has NO oxidisation or discolouration marks at all. A lovely White Silvery colour! The various marks or stampings are easily readable IF VIEWED UNDER HIGH MAGNIFICATION - these marks, particularly on top of the caps, are EXTREMELY small!
Under this same high magnification you can see light scratching to the metal surface from cleaning over the years but this is truly of no significance.
For the collector of the wonderful Christofle Silverware, this is an amazing example of their work some 50 odd years ago and it just simply oozes with history!
