Q&A ON RESEARCHING MARKS ON
BEGAY NAVAJO STERLING SILVER JEWELRY - SHEFFIELD PLATED SILVER – DIAMOND RING MARKS – GERMAN SILVER TEA-SET

"SHEFFIELD PLATE" usually refers to a very specific 18thC method of mechanically rolling thin layers of silver on copper. ELECTROPLATE is a chemical process. So, although there are hundreds of Manufacturing Silversmiths or Platers in Sheffield, UK, almost none was engaged in actual "Sheffield Plate" production after 1860s or so, and migrated their industrial method to using Electroplating techniques. For more on this, please see our articles STERLING SILVER & SILVERPLATED ANTIQUES: Understanding Sterling Silver or Silverplate and related terms and ROLLED SHEFFIELD SILVER PLATE.

This was designed by GEORGE BEGAY, who signed by using only his initials. Most other Begay and many other Southwest Artists usually accompanied their initials with a small symbol, that of an animal or a geometric shape.

He is associated with the famous American-Indian Navajo family of Silver & Jewelry Artisans by the same last name (Begay), and in fact he is the nephew of ROLAND BEGAY, one of the pioneers of that family in the Jewelry business. He lived in Jones Ranch, NM, and is of Navajo descent. He worked during ca 1960s - 1970s, which appears to coincide with when you acquired this lovely Southwest-styled Silver Brooch.

Your Silver Tray was probably made ca 1920s - 1950s. It is Electroplated and the Copper you see is the underlying layer used on almost all electroplated items ca late 19thC onwards as the Base Metal. Most collectors re-plate these and there are kits available in the market to restore its condition. There is no harm in replating Silverware - see our article on CARE, CLEANING and CONSERVATION METHODS for ANTIQUE METAL-WARE: Useful tips in restoring Antique Lamps, Clocks, Ormolu, Spelter, Bronze etc.

ASCOT is indeed the Pattern name and we do not believe this to be a reproduction as it is remarkably rare to see replicas of Silverplated items because their cost would be practically the same as for the original.  However, several popular designs and patterns are often re-issued by a company over the years and sometimes, but rarely, they are copied by others.

Although a very similar wheel mark was used on Austrian-Hungarian silver, we believe that this stunning piece is of German origin. The "wheel + star mark", in several variations and often accompanied by the initials MM was used MARTIN MAYER, located in Mainz, Germany - near Hanau. The company was founded in 1888, but remained in operation until ca 1940s.  The wheel mark is actually part of the Hallmark for the city of Maintz, Germany.

This beautiful Gold ring was made by LaFRANCE JEWELERS, a Manufacturing Jewelers and in business ca 1920s - 1950s, which also dates your item.

Thank you for the additional information you provided, which helps in focusing our research and provide you with an accurate answer:

• The initials refer to WILHELM WEINRANCK. In this case, the last letter "H" is for Hanau, Germany.
• W. Weinranck were a manufacturing silversmiths established in the late 1890s and were eventually acquired by another company, GEIST & SON in 1970.
• The Chevron mark was used by several companies in the Hanau region, including GEORG RUTTINGER as you suggested, ca 1920s onwards, and WILHELM LUDWIG (1935 - 1972 and also acquired by Geist & Son) and many others.  In fact, this Chevron mark is generally regarded as the "unofficial" Hallmark for Hanau, although it has never been registered as such.  It is actually this region's overall state symbol, in the same way the Bald Headed Eagle is for the United States.

As you probably know, it was common for most Hanau makers to use pseudo-marks. Therefore, in addition to a certain symbol with their initials, most other shape-marks were freely used by many others, which means that the chevron mark is not unique to any particular company or Silversmiths in the area. To learn more on this topic, please see our article on BRITISH PSEUDO-MARKS & HALLMARKS ON ANTIQUE SILVER & SILVERWARE.

Based on the time when W. Weinranck begun work and when your relatives acquired the Set, we believe it was made ca 1910s - 1930s.

In this case, since you cannot make out the first letter, please use our INITIALS SEARCH and enter: ? B S.  You will quickly confirm that the first letter is actually a T.  The mark is listed as No. 18 on the results page for THOMAS BRADBURY & SONS, Silversmiths & Platers, Sheffield (UK) - ca 1892 - 1930s.

The Rose Cut in diamonds is usually associated with antique jewelry and, coupled with the style of this piece, we would date it to ca late-19thC, i.e. Victorian Period. I also think it is American, not English or otherwise, as it would also have other Hallmarks indicating Purity, Assay etc.

In fact, if you use our INITIALS SEARCH you will find that this was actually made by D.C. PERCIVAL & Co. located in Boston, Mass.

To use our huge database of Silver & Jewelry makers' marks and hallmarks, including marks on other Precious metals, Pewter and other collectible Metalware, please see our Silver & Jewelry or Pewter Marks Identification Guides.

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