Hallmarking has been a legal requirement in Britain for over 700 years. Silver has always been a popular choice of material for producing decorative objects and the marks help identify the type and proportion of precious metal used in manufactured items, including jewellery, antique silver and objects, bringing with them a reassurance to the buyer that their purchase is of the highest “standard” and quality.
Silver hallmarks also reveal the maker of an object and the date it was made, as well as the Assay Office where it was classified. As with any collection area, certain makers are highly desirable and command huge sums at auction.
Silver plating was introduced in the 18th and 19th centuries, aided by advances in technology, and as such items of silver plate are considered more affordable, but still, with the right maker's mark, can command huge sums.
Sworders consigns and sells silver from all periods in specialist sales throughout the year. Antique silver is typically consigned to quarterly Fine Interiors auctions, with modern and contemporary pieces entered for sale in Design auctions, held three times a year. The more modestly priced items will feature in fortnightly Homes and Interiors sales.
To find out more about our forthcoming sales, or to talk further about potential consignments, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our specialist team.
Our specialists hold regular valuation days. Please contact us for more information, or complete the online form to enquire about the valuation of your items.
Want to know how much your items of Silver may be worth? Fill out our easy to use form and a member of the team will be in touch with free advice shortly.
Despite being a short-lived movement of only seven years, pioneering designer Ettore Sottsass and his fellow postmodernists of the Memphis Group continue to define the landscape of contemporary design, with their witty and whimsical designs that, despite being designated a fad, continue to be a point in Design history that we love to revisit.
24 May 2024
Ben Weinreb (1912-1999), born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, was an antiquarian bookseller and architectural historian whose lifetime’s worth of acquisitions has laid the foundations for the study of architectural history throughout the world. Now, three plaster models from his collection have made their way to Sworders, that he linked to two other titans of architectural history: Sir Robert Smirke and John Nash.
24 May 2024
During the Cuttings' custodianship, one might have been forgiven for thinking they had stumbled into an Italian palazzo upon entering The Old Bakehouse, Whepstead, for the first time. In what looked like a humble dwelling from the outside, Theo and Rosemary collected and arranged an impressive collection of fine furniture and works of art from the 17th to 19th centuries, creating a luxurious and elegant home that they shared for some sixty-five years.
20 May 2024
