www.925-1000.com

Hello all,
Thank you for letting me join the forum.
I have a collection of wine-related "accessories" of various age and origin. One of the most intriguing is a silver & crystal decanter that I have picked up over the years. This was purchased in Melbourne in the mid-1990s, not from a specialist silversmith.
I am seeking some information on its age, origin and composition please. I have searched a number of websites and forums to no avail.
The item appears to be silver on a crystal base - it is very heavy and the silver discolours. From a winemaking perspective the silver pourer is used to reduce "rotten-egg" smells in wine.
It could be Australian as it has a WHITEHILL stamp. It also has "T" and a crown in a rectangle (it's not a Leopard's head, it looks more like the Crown Casino sign). It also has an F in a shield. My research has not turned up this combination before.
Can anyone help please? Pics in the links.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/749 ... G_3715.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/74927989/Mark.png

Gday Blacktooth

There is Whitehill Silver Plate Co - an Australian company dealing in silver plate (kind of obvious I know). Good link to a previous Forum post on Whitehill - http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic ... ll#p107890. The "F" in your picture may be a date letter of some kind - hard to know with plate. They may still be in business (Google indicates they are) - a phone call may answer the date letter conundrum.

Also, I'd suggest silver plate not sterling silver - retailers and manufacturers go to great lengths to emphasise when an item is silver (e.g. "Sterling", Lion Passant, mandated hallmarks or similar) and, in the absence of such marks, I always assume plate.

Finally, in future please display the images in the post - not everyone likes to click on links to third party websites.

Cheers

Waylander

PS Suspect an Admin will shortly move your post to the "Silver Plate" section of the Forum.

Further post - some more digging has suggested there is also a Sheffield UK mob called Whitehill (or Whitehill Silver & Plate Co) currently making silver plate pieces. Not sure of any connection to the Australian company of the similar name - but if the piece is English, then it is definitively plate not silver.

Waylander

Thank you Waylander.
Being a Noob I didn't quite understand how to get the image to upload.
Thank you for all the information you put up. I'll try and contact the mob in Australia. I did an ASIC search and it appears that it has had various incarnations since 1986. This piece was purchased in about 1988-1992.
I'll investigate further.
Regards
Blacktooth