Silver is the trend says Barbara Chandler in the Evening Standard

Homes and Property (28 November 2012).

‘Silvery rooms are bang on trend. Ditch the red for winter white. Very Ralph Lauren. Metallic surfaces make a virtue of weak winter light. Choose shimmering wallcoverings, silvery lamp bases and pendants in chrome/pewter/glass. Wrap up in faux fur throws and hang large mirrors in ornate silver frames.’

Well, it just so happens that in the London Silver Vaults Seasonal Sparkle Christmas Gift  display right now there are three brilliant examples of Barbara's suggestions which you can buy. There’s a large decorated self-standing mirror and a silver electric table lamp. And these are both Edwardian so they pack an extra punch when it comes to value. And look fabulous. There is also a rather elegant late Victorian mirror (pictured here). More details in the Exhibition Catalogue on the website. 

Special Festive Shopping Day: Next Wednesday December 5 we are open late (till 8) and we have drinks and canapés and jolly music lined up to make your visit extra special. And there’s a glass of bubbly free if you book to eat at the Chancery Restaurant in Cursitor Street further down Chancery Lane and whisper the magic words Silver Vaults.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING DAY AT THE LONDON SILVER VAULTS

Wednesday 5^th December 2012

THE LONDON SILVER VAULTS

CHANCERY LANE/SOUTHAMPTON BUILDINGS WC2A 1QS

10.30am to 8.00pm LATE OPENING

Enquiries: pr@pipparoberts.com

 

For the first time ever, the London Silver Vaults, known for its vast selection of antique and modern silver and jewellery,  is staying open to the public until 8pm for late night shopping on 5 December. 

 

It will be a rare occasion to shop late at the fascinating London Silver Vaults, filled to the brim with fantastic gift ideas and on 5 December you can enjoy festive music, tasty canapés and a complimentary drink as you browse the many specialist shops housed at the Vaults.  Find affordable silver gifts such as swizzle sticks, coffee spoons, cocktail shakers, napkin rings, silver bracelets and modern jewels.

 

Get the  benefit of the dealers’ many years of experience in how to buy, use, collect and treasure silver. 

Back to Big Splashy Jewellery

Jewellery design has gone through some changes since the recession started to bite. Diamonds got smaller, used as pave threads around gems rather than being the centrepiece, and precious and semi precious gemstones got more colourful too but also smaller. This Autumn colour is still the hot story but the gemstones are big and splashy*, with lots of orange and red stones such as orange opals, mandarin garnets and pink sapphires (always popular), as well as a smattering of green emeralds and soft blue aquamarines. And where yellow gold is usually the standard setting for jewels, now, because of its current astronomic price (around $1700 an ounce) jewellers are using more platinum and silver for setting these colourful gems. Platinum was a jewellery favourite in the Thirties because it set off the Art Deco black and white designs so well and silver, although it has risen in price, is a fraction of the price of gold. You can still buy the original Thirties jewellery and other later, mid century designs (which are coming back into fashion) at the London Silver Vaults

where several dealers specialise in vintage and antique jewellery as well as promoting new jewellery design. Belmont has an Art Deco eternity ring with a full ruby channel set in platinum for £800. Wolfe has a Victorian deep blue enamelled heart pendant edged with tiny pearls and decorated with a silver bow of tiny diamonds for £1,750. William Walter has a retro silver filigree necklace with marcasite and four, deep maroon garnets for £140 and a colourful silver bangle set with lots of different agate stones for £450 (pictured). Nat Leslie stocks the contemporary Moonlight Collection by Sheila Fleet which features earrings and necklaces using opals, silver and blue hand enamelling. At the beginning of October these and many more colourful gems will be centre stage in the Silver Vaults’ 'Seasonal Sparkle' Christmas Gift display of attractive silver gifts in the foyer and online. All items are for sale. *Financial Times: Watches & Jewellery 8 Sep 2012

Follow the City's Silver Trail

Buried Treasure: Silver in the City is a new guided walk discovering the City's links to the story of silver from the Romans to the 20th century. The new Walk has been sponsored by the London Silver Vaults as part of the Celebrate the City event running from next Thursday 21 June until Sunday. The first Walk will start at 2pm Thurday 21 June 2012 and at the same time Friday. Saturday and Sunday the walk starts at 10am. Meet at Chancery Lane Tube. You will end the walk at the London Silver Vaults about an hour later, where you can see an exhibition of 20th Century Modernist silver called Post War Winners. The guided walk is free but you do need to book. Book here on the Celebrate the City website. The Vaults are closed on Sundays. Over the course of these four very special days (21 – 24 June), thousands of people will be given the keys to the City of London, as the Square Mile opens its doors to reveal many of its secrets and treasures. It's your chance to enjoy the freedom of the City of London - and a unique opportunity to find out why the Square Mile is not as square as you might think! Launching on Midsummer Day (21 June) with Tchaikovsky’s thunderous 1812 Overture performed in Guildhall Yard by musicians from Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Celebrate the City events – most of which are free-of charge - will include glittering exhibitions, City walks and talks, Livery Hall openings, family entertainment at the Cheapside Fayre, activities at the Barbican Centre and Museum of London, and music in many of the City’s churches. Celebrate the City is a joint collaboration between the City’s arts partners, attractions, livery companies, churches, retail and hotels. It is promoted by the City of London Corporation and the Diocese of London with generous support from the City Bridge Trust.

Causing a flutter at the Antiques Road Show

A spectacular diamond butterfly brooch from the Edwardian period was on last Sunday’s (1st April) Antiques Road Show and was valued for insurance at £60000, much to the delight of the mother and daughter who brought it to the show. If you were looking closely at the screen you would have seen Linden and Co, 85 New Bond Street, printed inside the lid of the brooch box.
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There is still a Linden & Co today which is based at the London Silver Vaults and specialises in antique silver and jewellery. Steven Linden’s great uncle originally worked out of a tiny office near London’s Piccadilly and did rather well when Britain came off the gold standard causing a flurry of buying and selling in gold and silver. With his profits he opened a double fronted jewellery shop in upmarket Bond Street. Two nephews joined him in the business; one was Steven’s father. After his uncle died, Stevens’s father set up Linden & Co in 1960 at the London Silver Vaults, which is now run by his two sons Steven & Howard.

Says Steven Linden, ‘My great uncle’s combination of entrepreneurial spirit and good eye for quality was the key to a very successful career. Over 60 years later like many of the dealers in the silver vaults whose knowledge have been handed down through the generations, we probably know a thing or two about silver & jewellery, which makes the Vaults a rather special place to shop. And butterfly brooches are still very popular.’

Flickering candlelight in a room adds a magical touch. If you add silver in the form of candlesticks, the effect of candlelight and silver can be utterly stunning. So while the nights are still dark and cold, here are some ideas to add warmth to your evenings in.

In its current selling exhibition, The London Silver Vaults has an eclectic mix of antique and modern silver candlesticks, candelabra and other devices for carrying the flame into 2012. You can find timeless Georgian elegance like the candlesticks shown here from 1763 through to avant garde contemporary design like this de Vecchi 20th century flourish known as the T8 candelabra.

A cluster of candlesticks works to better effect. Put a string of candlesticks down the centre of a dining table and set these off with tea-lights underneath. But never leave lit candles unattended in a room.

Silver collectors visiting the display will be intrigued by some very unusual pieces such as a rare pair of adjustable candle-holders for the piano, a J Gilbert candle snuffer and tray in Old Sheffield Plate or a really stunning pair of five-light candelabra with a Chinese style bamboo pattern from the turn of the century.
Carrying the Flame runs until mid May 2012. See the catalogue for a list of the exhibits

Hand Mirrors Popular Again

The dressing table mirror is the ‘comeback’ item in a recent Kate Shapland beauty notebook for the Telegraph Magazine (10 December 2011). Remember them? A mirror with a long elegant handle, set in wood, glass or silver, that allows you to see your latest hairdo from the back if you hold it up to another mirror. At the London Silver Vaults there are some delightful hand mirrors to buy, either in decorated silver or with enamelled backs in whites, blues and greens. They date back to late Victorian times or the more recent Edwardian era and they were still being made in the 1960s. Prices are around the £200 mark or even half that for something less ornate. A very special Valentine’s Day present.