unknown whiskey decanter with strange marks

[tu-fan]

Hello!

I got a nice whiskey decanter. These marks are strange!

Please, help to identify the manufacturer and year.







Thank you so much!

Greetings
Mark

[dognose]

Hi Mark,

The decanter top was manufactured by F.A.F. srl Fabbrica Argenteria Fiorentina of Firenze, they appear to have ceased production around 1999.

The top is not solid silver. It's a resin base covered with a layer of silver. To identify such pieces and so that they are not to be confused with solid silver items, as they do contain a full set of Italian marks, the Italian government required some extra marks to be struck. These extra marks are a 'R' within a square, this stands for 'Riempito' (filled), and also a set of figures that indicate the amount of silver deposited, in grams (1÷2 g, 2÷3 g, 3÷5g, etc.). These are not exact weights, but must fit into range stated by each mark, in this case, between 10 and 13 grams are deposited.

I think the law regarding such pieces only came in at the very end of the 1990's, so with that, and the firm ceasing production around 1999, gives you a pretty accurate date.

Trev.

[tu-fan]

Hey Trev. thank you very much! Didn´t know that. Have a nice day!

[dognose]

Some further detail regarding F.A.F. srl Fabbrica Argenteria Fiorentina can be found here:

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=27003&p=138468#p138468

Trev.

[AG2012]

Hi,
The stopper cannot be seen: I suppose it`s ground glass. Why is it sunk into the decanter bottleneck ?
Just interested, if it`s too much trouble to post an image of the stopper, forget it. Thank you.
Regards

[amena]

Hi Ag 2012
Usually in those years the stoppers were not made of ground glass but of some kind of material with a soft plastic ring around.
In this case the plastic ring is lost.
Best
Amena