Silver Plated Bowls with FK 800 Mark

[AgeUKSouthLakeland]

Hi all - we've just had these two large fruit bowls donated, with marks on the underside of both that say FK 800. Now I'm not under any illusion that they're solid 800 silver,they're obviously not - but does the 800 mean that they're Continental and 800 silver plated, or is it nothing to do with it at all?

Does anyone know what the FK refers to, or where they may originate? Can't find anything with my own research.

Many thanks
Kay

[dognose]

Hi Kay,

Regarding the bowls being plated, you said "they're obviously not". Did you say that because you can see signs of wear and the base metal being exposed?

Trev.

[AgeUKSouthLakeland]

Hi Trev - no, they don't seem to be rubbed through - it's just that the metalwork has obviously machined sections that are rough and look like they've been cut from a mould and filed down - there are file marks and it's not smooth like you'd expect solid silver to be. It also doesn't 'sound' like silver when you tap it, if you know what I mean? Sounds very tinny and higher pitched if that makes sense.

Do you think it may be silver rather than plate?

[WarrenKundis]

Hi Kay,

Unless you find other marks there it does appear to be 800 grade silver and not plate. FK is most likely a makers mark but difficult to identify maker or country without further marks. The sections may have been caste then filed down. Very very few pieces of even the best work was completely made by hand without a die caste or mould.

Let's see what else Trev can tell us.
Warren

[AgeUKSouthLakeland]

Many thanks Warren - Trev's sent me a PM with a bit more info, as he had to explain that he'd taken down my link to our Facebook page as it contained links to eBay, which I hadn't meant to do - he said,

"It is very difficult to tell from images alone, but my gut feeling is that you are right about the dishes being silver-plated. They may well be Italian in origin. In Italy during the 1970's and 80's there was a lot of bending of their hallmarking laws, items were marked '800' etc. but when questioned, the makers would claim this to be a pattern number! The Italian laws were considerably tightened up after this period.

However, to be on the safe side, I would recommend taking one to a local jeweller who would be able to give the item a quick test as to the purity. Most jewellers do not charge for such a service, especially when it is for charity."

So I'll pop it along to a jeweller, although my gut feeling is that it's plate, but it would be wonderful if it wasn't, especially as they're pretty big!

K

[dognose]

Apologies to all for PM'ing thoughts before placing them on the forum, but I'm chasing my tail today.

Hopefully I'm wrong with those thoughts, but let's see the result of the test.

Trev.