Thursday 15 September 2011

Silver and A Special Relationship


What do Goldie Hawn, Joan Rivers and Barbara Walters have in common? A great sense of humour? Not sure about Barbara. Well in fact they are all American girls who at various times popped over from the US and dropped into the London Silver Vaults in Chancery Lane to do a little silver shopping. They are amongst generations of Americans who first began this special relationship with English quality silver after the war, when many GIs were still stationed here. At that time us Brits were still trying to get some rationed butter to put on our rationed bread, rather than splashing out on a shiny lifestyle. We have caught up a bit now and rather like a dash of glamorous silver about the home.

Meanwhile, also discovering the appeal of English silver is another American, the young editor of An American Girl in Chelsea, the ‘chic guide for American women in London’. She particularly likes the Silver Vaults for wedding gifts to get away from that Wedding List sameyness. And she is rather taken with some of the antique culinary silver that is in the next selling exhibition at the Vaults in The Cook’s Kitchen show, starting in October.