Posts: 1
Registered: Oct 2005

posted 11-01-2005 12:35 PM            

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I am new to the world of silver and I have some basic questions:

1) what does 18GR mean?

2) how do you tell the difference between silverplate and sterling silver? If a piece isn't marked at all, does this mean it is neither?

3) Specifically, I have a piece marked 18GR and AheartR. I haven't found anything on this. Can anyone shed some light?

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Posts: 1627
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 11-01-2005 02:43 PM            

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You really need to post a clear photo for a definitive response (click on the link near the top of every page in the forum for instructions on how to do this).

You should also invest in at least one basic reference book, to start, to answer your question about how to tell whether something is silver or something else. You should also invest many hours reading through the various sections in this forum to see the responses to specific questions as to what different markings mean.

As far as I can tell from your description, the 18 gr marking indicates that it is silver plated. It stands for 18 grams which is an indicator of the thickness of the silver plating depostited on top of the base metal of which the object is made. The higher the number of grams, the thicker the plating. The number represents the approximate amount of silver it took to get the thickness of silver plating that you would get if your used that amount to plate 24 pieces of flatware (12 spoons plus 12 forks). The better quality silver plated objects I've seen tend to be in the 60 to 100 grams range.

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Posts: 2132
Registered: Nov 2002

posted 11-01-2005 03:39 PM            

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In general, if a piece isn't marked we go by design, style, size, appearance and experience. An unmarked very large tray is almost always plated, but not 100% of the time. Flatware without marks is frequently a solvable mystery; from the pattern we can figure out when it might have been made, then try to compare it to known marked items. Marking does not appear to have ever been an exact science.

Kimo is right about the 18gr being a plated mark. I am not sure what origin it points to. I have seen it on items I suspected were Asian or South American. There is a lot about plated ware from outside the North Atlantic region I don't know.

Even with a mark we still need to know the kind and size of item, this plays a huge role in identifying items. My own rule of thumb is the larger the piece, the less likely it is to be sterling. This is not an infallible rule, just a rough guideline. And we need to see the piece, or a picture of it. Then we can make a determination. So, tell us more.

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