www.925-1000.com

I realize fakes are not to be discussed here, but since both Dad (90%) and the original poster (100%, based on his sarcasm) ) believe that the item is authentic, may I ask what they make out of the extra number 5 that I see to the right the assayer mark? Double strike? Overstrike? Illusion? Somethin...

The removed date below the assaying marks. What date would it have been and if if it is removed, how do you know that it was a date? Was it engraved or punched? Could the OP be referring to the punch below? It seems to me the date is obliterated or at least illegible? If true on all the pieces, why...

Thanks, Zolotnik! That settles one of my questions about Kavkaz souvenirs I see on the net. Given the abundance of Russian fakes offered for sale, it's getting hard to know what the original quality was supposed to be like. Nope, not easy to go a museum and see examples of real Kavkaz souvenirs wher...

...are all made in the rather crude niello technique used for Kafkas/Jalta souvenirs. I've seen such items offered for sale all over the internet (often with the exact same initials) and long been suspicious of the crude niello. So is that sort of niello quality really the norm/to be expected on Ka...

I didn't realize links to past auction RESULTS were forbidden. I understand why links to current auctions are discouraged but didn't see the harm in posting a link to past results. I seem to recall that's been done here in the past when looking for rare marks. Then again, opening especially a recent...

I'm probably totally off the mark but I recently came across a mark that looks similar to the bottom letters on your spoon : the 12 loth mark of Kronstadt, Austria-Hungary, in the 1750's. It's on page 65 in Tardy's book. I am not familiar with silver from that region at all so this is basically just...

It seems the OP has deleted the photos. Or I just can't see them for some reason.
Was it the box in this link? Link goes (hopefully) to Christie's auction results.
(admin edit - see Posting Requirements )


Some interesting makers and items there.

A collection of breastjuwellery sounds excellent to me! :-) Lovely baubles you have, if those are yours. You are quite right, of course, about the paucity of information re 19th century Siberia. We actually had a friendly inter-family argument about diamonds/lookalike stones after we visited the Rus...

Thanks Postnikov! Very interesting. I've seen those uncut/poorly cut stones on icons but didn't realize they were diamonds. The impression I got from online research was that even that kinds of diamonds were seldom found in Russia -- several sources mention a 1829 alluvial find in the Ural mountains...

It is interesting to know that diamonds weren't often used - is there any particular reason for this? I happened on a book about Russian diamonds, The Diamond Invention , by Edward Jay Epstein when researching Faberge. (The same writer wrote Dossier: The Secret History of Armand Hammer .) http://ww...

Maybe you have been abroad for so long that you have forgotten that Finland once was a part of the Russian Empire, The grand Duchy of Finland, you know :-)))))))))))))))))

Hmmm -- must have happened after I left..... :-P

Morning, Postnikov-- I mean no disrespect but as a perfectionist student, I have to point out that you originally transliterated the Я into Ju -- Jutschinov (Jutschinikov, Jutschenkov) -- not Ja (Jahr) as in your table. I admire your knowledge of Russian silver and greatly value your contributions ...

Hi Postnikov -- you are up late!? I do realize we are talking about Russian names. I'm a linguist of sorts (studied Russian and English) so please forgive a further attempt to clarify my point. There are a number of common ways of transliterating Russian letters into Roman/Latin ones -- many are, of...

Hi, Thanks for all the info! Re AЯ-- I just wished to clarify the name as an English speaker would likely expect Ya , since Ju would be pronounced as in the word "jury." The assayer is listed as Yashinov in the Russian section of this site. How to transliterate between languages is, of co...

I'm curious about the lack of a year in the earlier spoons, assayed by Yashinov ( I think the Russian Я transliterates into Ya in English instead of Ju). Was that common -- not having a year punch? Apart from the Postnikova -Loseva, is there a book/place you experts here would recommend for learnin...

Do all your spoons look the same in the back (at the business/bowl end) as the one with Karpinskiy 1830 assayer mark? How many have the assayer mark? (The photo on the board doesn't -- it would seem to have two sets of maker marks.) You might want to post your photo number seven on the forum as well...

Carl Blumay's book ( the one I quoted above) tells pretty much the same story as Epstein. He wrote it after his old boss died, when he could tell his truth, as witnessed during his decades of working for Hammer. Hammer's own book has a photo of Lenin, dedicated to "Comrade Hammer" by hand,...

There are many, many insider stories I heared from stuff of the Ermitage and Russian collectors - but it is better to wait maybe 30 years until all the participants are dead. That hot, huh? Maybe I can pick your brain about that stuff on some other venue at some point. :-) The stories are what make...

Hammer talks about going to Russia (summer of 1921) in his own book. I think those talking about Soviet Union are simplifying, to draw a line between pre- and after-revolution Russia. Hammer claimed he was going to Russia for humanitarian reasons and, as silverly correctly states, did not even menti...

@ finnclouds: books cost money - but knowledge is power :-) Yup --and the stories in some books are pretty near incredible. I have a couple of books about Hammer but will look up the one you recommend. It would be interesting to know what actually happened to the punches and how long Hammer's guys ...