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Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2016 7:02 pm
by 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.

Image
Image

Re: Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 3:08 am
by 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

Re: Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 3:18 am
by AG2012
The main question has to do with how much is sterling.
Probably about 10-15 % of its weight.

Re: Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 4:30 am
by AG2012
The proof:
9.6 oz and 1 oz = 10.4%
Image

Re: Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 3:34 pm
by 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

Re: Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2016 3:28 am
by 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 %

Re: Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2016 3:31 am
by AG2012
Btw.It can be cleaned safely, just do not use excessive force and do not drop it.

Re: Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2016 6:06 pm
by SteveH
AG2012 wrote: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.

Re: Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 4:13 am
by AG2012
There is no misunderstanding. The bowl is sterling. We are talking about the percentage of silver in weighted part (the base).

Re: Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 2:50 pm
by SteveH
Got it, thanks.

Re: Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 10:12 pm
by niceguy1
HI AG

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

Re: Empire Sterling Weighted Dish

Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 2:30 am
by 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