posted 09-21-2007 05:19 AM            

In managing an Inventory that receives hundreds of thousands pieces of Silver Flatware & Hollowware per year, we use a 4 Tier Quality Grading System with 5 or more levels of Classification that account for the age and availability of the Pieces...

Each Pattern is classified a level based on it's age and that serves as the 'standard' for how strict or lenient to be when grading its quality...for example, an 1885 Sterling Spoon with a slight mis-shaped bowl may still be inventoried at "1st Quality", while a Stainless Steel Salad Fork in an "Active" pattern with a slight blemish to the tines may be reduced by 1/4 Grade...for older patterns, one quality strike could infer 0-3 'downgrades' (each in 25% intervals)....

Scratches, Pitting, Plate-Wear, Pattern Wear, Altered Pieces, Dents, Rattles....

Sterling Silver is generally the easier of metal types to grade given the ability to remove scratches, straighten tines etc., and the most common 'downgrade' we encounter is with Knives that have Stainless Blades which can be pitted & "Hollow" Handles that can easily dent or 'shake/rattle'..a 1920's Sterling Knife with a minor ding at the tip may still qualify as "1st", while a 1970's and/or Active pattern must be free of any marks...one trick here becomes the patterns that were introduced in say the 1940's and are still being produced today...this places a 50 year old piece in the same classification as a Brand-New one...in some cases we'll "split" a pattern old/new based on the length of production and possible quality differences over those years...this contains additional levels of complication as it's very common for Silver manufacturers to continue to utilize & create dies with "older" back stamps...

Coin Silver pieces we tend to be very forgiving..given the obvious age criteria..the often seen dimple dents to Teaspoon Bowls can generate a discount, but most of those pieces pass as "Full" Grade..

Silverplate is perhaps the toughest to handle when determining quality levels, as those pieces can arrive more tarnished than others and plate-wear can be masked...they are also more time consuming for the polishers to handle and we have to guard against 'pitting' our polishers into situations where they're spending exuberant time cleaning 'lower-end' pieces...

Monogams can also trigger a downgrade, heavier in more recent or less desirable patterns..rare patterns in many cases are treated the same whether they have a monogram or not..


Stainless Steel, considering it's relative youth in comparison to the others falls 2nd in terms of difficulty, but is generally limited to pitting or pattern loss...Finish becomes vital in Stainless steel patterns, as Manufacturers seek sellable trends in the Market...Satin, Glossy, Gold, Frosted etc...

In the end, our customers become the standard by which we Grade, and while many would shudder at the thought of their pieces of Gorham Versailles hitting the buffing wheel, others want a mirror finish & every possibly scratch removed...as we fill their tables for their parties and help to preserve their traditions, it's ultimately up to them...

posted 09-27-2007 01:21 AM            

Yes, the system for grading coins. Have you ever tried to sell coins? Arrrggghh. All you do is argue endlessly about condition. For things in use, there is really no point in doing so.

posted 09-28-2007 06:23 AM            

certain 'damages' are accepted at different levels for different Grade factors..this does not mean that by comparing all pieces of a certain class you won't find varience..our goal is to keep that varience as slight as possible..

we actually use a separate color polybag to designate to the polishers "handle with care"...can mean mnay things, but mainly serves as a flag..

I hear the point on 'damage is damage', & that's a tough one to address, introducing additional layers upon layers of grading..not sure it helps...for your grid example Scott, factors such as Pattern & Item Demand, while components in factoring a buy price, do become transparant to our inspectors when grading for quality...a pit is a pit, whether we have demand or not...others (myself) may make exceptions, but training all to recognize some of these factors proves often times more difficult than establishing a quality..

posted 09-29-2007 01:30 AM            

I tend to regard each statement about the wear on a silver item with a 'no sh*t Sherlock' response. These are old items; they have a history. They did not just come from the factory.

I personally find grading systems counterproductive.