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The new London Silver Vaults website is www.silvervaultslondon.com
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Lords and Ladies and their silver

 Lady Gaga it was reported recently in the Mail

insists on sitting down to a dining table bedecked

with a full silver service of cutlery. Shows silver can be

edgy.  And where do you think the props people for ITV's

Downton Abbey get their silver?  Word has it that they have

bought it from the London Silver Vaults – tops for antique silver 

from as far back as the 1700s. 

Yesterday was a rather special day. The Lord Mayor of the City of London and the Lady Mayoress came to the London Silver Vaults to congratulate us on achieving our sixtieth anniversary, here in London's Chancery Lane. They were shown round by Steven Linden who chairs the Dealers Association and given a brief history of the Vaults.  

 

Ray Feldman who now runs his own shop was able to give a first hand account of the history because he has worked here for as long as the Silver Vaults as shops have existed. In 1953 there were just 13 dealers, now there are 25. Then the silver wares were piled on trestle tables down the main 'street' in front of what were real Vaults.  This image was captured by a Ronald Searle drawing in the new

picture display of special moments from the past. (Like Liberace buying his candelabra from the then Mrs Langford, grandmother of the two Langfords who now run the shop)

The mayoral party were amused to see tiny silver figures of the different people who made up the 'cries of London' such as the town crier, fishmongers, flower sellers.  These were in Tara Belmont's

shop amongst her lovely modern and vintage jewellery.

A visit to Vivienne in Bryan Douglas gave an opportunity to talk about the families involved in the Vaults and how businesses have continued for generations.

In David Shure they saw a humongous silver wine 'cistern'.  Big enough to have a bath in.

Although brief, the visit was much enjoyed by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, as an opportunity to learn more about a topic of interest to them both.  It made a relaxing change in their hectic schedule of official speeches and business meetings - up to five events a day!

WIN £1000 WORTH OF SILVER

Visit the shops at the London Silver Vaults between now and the end of October and you can enter a Prize Draw to win a £1,000 shopping spree in any of the Vaults 25+ shops selling silver, vintage watches or jewellery. The Draw is part of the London Silver Vaults' 60 Lustrous Years celebrations.

<sup>The Draw will take place on November 1 and so the lucky winner will be able to buy some very special Christmas presents this year, perhaps over fizz and mince pies at the Silver Vaults Christmas Shopping Day on 4 December.

As part of the 60 Lustrous Years programme, all things British will be celebrated in silver in a new selling exhibition in July and a new illustrated booklet on the timeless elegance of silver will be published at the same time. 

So make sure 2013 is the year you do go shopping at the London Silver Vaults.</sup>

Great Gatsby! It's Art Deco at the London Silver Vaults.

The stage show Top Hat started London’s current craze for 1930s style. Great Gatsby-mania is now taking off, ‘the Twenties look’ already embraced by fashion, beauty and men’s grooming. At the London Silver Vaults a selling exhibition Art Deco – Silver in the ‘Style Moderne’ gives you the chance to buy original Art Deco silver from the two decades.

The Twenties and Thirties were a delicious interlude when the bright young things of the day overthrew the fussy styles of the past.  In came the crisp lines of Art Deco - elegance, glamour, functionality and modernity, first feted at the 1925 Paris Exposition des Arts Decoratifs.

Architecture, furniture, textiles and also silverware and jewellery, from Europe to the USA, embraced the clean lines of industry and took inspiration from exotic ancient cultures (Egyptian, Aztec, tribal African) and the influence of cubism and futurism in art.

In silver, Art Deco is all about sleek, stretched shapes in architectural forms, with geometric and stylised detail.  Surface pattern is minimal, allowing the burnished smooth patina of the metal to gleam. 

French designers leading the style were Paul Poiret, René Lalique, Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann, Jean Dunand and Jean Puiforcart.  English silversmiths took their cue, and makers such as Walker & Hall, Atkins Brothers, Carrington & Co, Adie Brothers and Mappin & Webb created wonderful Art Deco tableware and accessories.  Tiffany was the jeweller of the day.

Art Deco design looked good in the Twenties and Thirties and still makes a statement in Twenty Thirteen. Items for sale range in price from a set of 12 cocktail cups in silver plate for £240 (Linden & Co) to a pair of sterling silver tazzas in a Jean Puiforcat design made by Elkington at £6,500 (S &J Stodel).

Our Top Ten 'Jewels' for Valentine’s Day

The London Silver Vaults sells antique silver but also has a great selection of silver vintage jewellery and watches and even some new silver jewellery from today’s talented silversmiths.

You will find a good selection of jewellery and gift items on display in the three big cabinets in the downstairs foyer – these are the ‘shop windows’ for the Vaults. Here are ten items on display which our designer has selected. Any one would make a perfect Valentine’s Day gift.  See more from the display.

 

For Her

Diamonds and precious stones 

1.  Eternity ring set with three diamonds and four sapphires.

£450 Bruford & Heming, Vault 65 

2. 5cm wide cuff bracelet in plain silver. £270 William Walter, Vault 3

3. 1950s Danish enamelled silver bracelet. £225 Linda Jackson Vaults 53 & 55 

4. Modern, hand enamelled silver    ‘Wave’ earrings by Scottish silversmith Sheila Fleet. £87.   Nat Leslie, Vault 21 (enquiries to Vault 7)

5. Black Onyx & Diamond Necklace with white gold ‘kiss’

£1,950. Belmont, Vaults 48 & 50

6. Silver, marcasite & cubic zirconium necklace, £195.

William Walter, Vault 3.  

Contact details here

For Him

Gold for Him

1. Gold compass £150 Wolfe, Vault 41

2. Gold chain cufflinks £425 Wolfe, Vault 41

3. Silver model of vintage car £550. J Surtees, Vault 16

4. Martini cocktail stirrer, lemon zester and ice crusher in one.

£95. Linden & Co, Vault 7. 

Contact details here

SILVER VAULTS SHORTLISTED FOR AWARD

The London Silver Vaults has been shortlisted in the 2013 Homes and Antiques

Awards.  The announcement was made in the February issue of the magazine that 
The London Silver Vaults is one of 25 shops shortlisted for the Antiques Centre of the Year.

The Vaults is delighted to have been recognised as offering ‘excellent quality, choice and knowledgeable and personable service’ especially in 2013 when it is celebrating its 60^th year of business at the Chancery Lane site.

We invite our customers and Homes and Antiques readers to vote for us on the magazine's website by the end of February 2013. The top five venues in each category will be announced in April and the Winners will be announced at the Decorative Antiques and Textiles Fair on 25 April during National Antiques Week.

Since 1953 The London Silver Vaults has been selling quality antique and contemporary British and foreign silver in the many shops in Chancery House, 53-64 Chancery Lane, at the corner of Southampton Buildings.  It now boasts the largest collection of silver for sale in the world.

You can vote by clicking here.  We hope you will support us.