Antique French 18K Gold Vermeil on Sterling Silver 13p Tea Set, Teaspoons & Tong
Elegant antique French 18k gold on sterling silver "vermeil" 13pc teaspoon & sugar tongs set with ornate guilloche style machined or engraved pattern, raised acanthus framed medallions with interlaced "CE" monograms & wonderful condition in the original fitted storage and/or presentation box! One of a few beautiful old boxed vermeil tea service utensils we'll be adding in the coming weeks. This set in a gilded finish, actually 18k gold plated silver (we've not tested this set but the French silversmiths nearly always used 18k gold for their vermeil pieces). The post 1838 French Minerve or Minerva head hallmark on all pieces, the tiny number "1" in the upper right corner means they're all in .950 silver under the gold (95% pure and higher than the .925 standard for "sterling" silver). If you look closely at the silversmith marks, you'll see that the sugar tongs bear that of another maker. Not uncommon for silversmiths to collaborate with each other but we think that the tongs mu