Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

[SteveH]

I'm trying to get info on the item below, which unfortunately has not been well cared-for.

The mark says Empire Sterling Weighted 62. Max diameter is 6 inches, height is 2-3/4 inches.

As for identification, it appears replacements.com may have garbled something, as they have the 62 pattern associated with a 3-inch size. But I think it's safe to say the item is a weighted round compote dish. Or maybe a compote/candy dish.

The main question has to do with how much is sterling.

I'm guessing the base is the weighted part... a layer of sterling covering something heavy like cement.

Is the bowl itself sterling?

Thanks.

[AG2012]

Hi,
Yes,it`s silver, i.e.sterling. Be careful handling it because the silver coating is very thin on these pieces and can buckle.
Cheers

[AG2012]

The main question has to do with how much is sterling.

Probably about 10-15 % of its weight.

[AG2012]

The proof:
9.6 oz and 1 oz = 10.4%

[SteveH]

Thanks AG2012,

The person who owned the dish didn't think it was "real silver" and so didn't treat it like the other sterling (flatware set, serving trays, etc.). I guess it pays to know what one has. The good news is that this dish got a lot of use.

Could you elaborate a bit on the pictures? I don't quite understand what was done and what the calculations were.

I realize talk of scrapping silver can be a sensitive subject on this board, but if the dish in question can't be cleaned up enough (safely), it would probably be better off going to scrap.

- Steve

[AG2012]

Image ONE: Weight of the intact candlestick was 9.6 oz (meaning silver coating + cement inside).
Image TWO: Candlestick dismantled, silver scrapped (removed from cement). Its weight was 1 oz.
Percentage calculated:
Use online percentage calculator
http://www.percentagecalculator.net/
Enter 1 and 9.6 into the second row.
1 is what percent of 9.6? CALCULATE
The result is 10.4 %

[AG2012]

Btw.It can be cleaned safely, just do not use excessive force and do not drop it.

[SteveH]

Image ONE: Weight of the intact candlestick was 9.6 oz (meaning silver coating + cement inside).
Image TWO: Candlestick dismantled, silver scrapped (removed from cement). Its weight was 1 oz.
Percentage calculated:
Use online percentage calculator
http://www.percentagecalculator.net/
Enter 1 and 9.6 into the second row.
1 is what percent of 9.6? CALCULATE
The result is 10.4 %

Okay thanks, I guess where the confusion was is that a bowl has a lot more silver than a candlestick holder. A candlestick holder is a large base (sterling coating + "cement") and and small bowl (pure sterling).

In the case of the dish, it's a small base (sterling coating + cement) and a large bowl (pure sterling). So the percentage weight should be different, I'm thinking. Though maybe the cement is heavy enough to overpower the larger size of the dish.

In any case, I get the concept. Thanks for spelling it out.

[AG2012]

There is no misunderstanding. The bowl is sterling. We are talking about the percentage of silver in weighted part (the base).

[SteveH]

Got it, thanks.

[niceguy1]

HI AG

I was wondering if you ever did a similar text on silver handled knives, what percentage is the actual silver?

[AG2012]

Hi,
``Weighted silver`` is of rather uniform thickness. Cannot help with knives, because hollow handles (attached to blades with colophony, rosin) differ very much in weight and thickness.
Regards