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 SMP Silver Salon Forums
 American Sterling Silver
 Love Disarmed - Original vs Reissue
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| Author | Topic: Love Disarmed - Original vs Reissue |
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Bercaw Posts: 5 |
posted 06-23-2010 08:19 AM
  
Does anyone have any insight as to how to tell the original issue of Reed & Barton's Love Disarmed pattern versus the reissue in the 70's? Though we are dealers, our interest in this post is to try and assist my sister who has a set of Love Disarmed and we are trying to figure out which of the pieces are the original and which are the reissued. IP: Logged |
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Dale Posts: 2132 |
posted 06-24-2010 12:42 AM
This is going to be very difficult. It is not clear if the 1970's production came from new dies or old dies. The silver companies have always been cagey about which dies are used, and which have been replaced. There is also the issue of reworked dies, another subject we know virtually nothing about. In general, silver is classified as open stock, discontinued or obsolete. There is another category where the pattern is available on special order or in sets, which really is not terribly clear. The term reissue does not enter into the business. The silver companies followed a practice of making old patterns available every 25 to 30 years. Which follows the silver anniversary cycle. So a 1900 pattern would be available in the mid 20's, the late 40's, the late 60's, the 80's and probably in a few years. The issue here seems to be that we just don't know when pieces of a pattern were made. We do know, or surmise, that actual production followed a most efficient model: the company would make the number of pieces that had the least cost. This is something covered in micro-economics textbooks. IP: Logged |
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Dale Posts: 2132 |
posted 06-24-2010 12:48 AM
The silver makers, or their jobbers and wholesalers, then sat on a large inventory. Since the main method of selling was through bridal registries which involved a lot of personal contact, there is not much of an advertising trail left of when this happened. I can remember Love Disarmed from the mid 70's into the mid 80's. Which conforms to its having been available in the 40's. The pieces sold then were probably a mix of old inventory and newly produced. I doubt they can be distinguished.
IP: Logged |
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Bercaw Posts: 5 |
posted 06-24-2010 09:00 AM
Greatly appreciate the feedback. Seems that there are many fews on this topic with many the same and others diverse. Will continue to do more research on this topic. We need a Samuel Haugh type for Reed & Barton!! IP: Logged |
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Kimo Posts: 1627 |
posted 06-24-2010 02:07 PM
I do not know about this particular pattern, but many times I can spot new production from old original production by the sense of quality and look. I know that is not at all scientific, but I believe that the methods of production have changed over the years, old dies have worn down, new dies are copied from old dies or from old pieces and lose just a bit of detail in the copying, there is less hand finishing and refining, etc. The old original pieces of flatware to my eye just seem to be higher quality than more recently produced pieces of flatware of the same pattern. Another tell is the amount of patina - not just tarnish which comes quickly, but the micro scratches and wear patterns that come with a great many decades of use. This is not always reliable if the flatware has been rarely used or kept in storage for a most of its life, but it can often help. IP: Logged |
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park1226 Posts: 102 |
posted 06-24-2010 11:17 PM
I can speak from experience as we purchased 8 dinner size place settings approximately 20 years ago to supplement our circa 1910 service. There is a definite loss of detail in these newer pieces. This is most apparent in the place pieces.The newer teaspoons even show a lack of facial features especially around the mouth. The old teaspoons have amazing detail and fine detailing on the leaves,flowers and figure. The woman's dress has a texture and her fingers and hair are finely worked. Her face has the quality of a very fine bronze sculpture. The newer pieces also have sharp outer edges when held in the hand. As mentioned earlier these differences are not as pronounced on the serving pieces presumably because the dies for the basic place settings were the most worn. A reputable matching service should be able to supply an early issue for comparison so you can see the differences for yourself. Hope this helps. IP: Logged |
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