posted 02-16-2007 08:14 AM            

since I am a very new member to silver issues (we are planning with my wife to start with) I would like to know of what the Christofle "silver" for the pieces of nowadays (Christofle argenté, in french) is made of. I asked in many "pavillons" in Greece, the answers I got where that it is a special alloy containing silver and white metals (no further exact composition)or that it is 70% silver or even that it is Alpacca (Cu/Ni/Zn) with 120 gr silver plate on it. Is there maybe an exact answer to that ? and by the way is there any formula linking grams and microns (approximately) ?

posted 02-16-2007 02:42 PM            

The metal that Christofle uses for silverplating is called “maillechort” in French or nickel silver in English, which is an alloy of nickel, copper and zinc. This is a base metal containing no silver. The French government has set standards for the minimal average thickness of the silver coating used by all silverplate manufacturers. This is expressed in microns, or one millionth of a meter. For items that will be in contact with food, the standard since 1983 is 10 to 33 microns thick. How microns (a measure of length) can be translated into grams (a measure of weight) is beyond my own feeble capacities in mathematics.

Why do you ask about this measure? Are you concerned about measuring quality? In my opinion and experience, Christofle uses no more silver in plating its goods than any other French silverplate manufacturer. However, the quality of a Christofle item is determined by its design and finish, as well as the reputation and renown of the firm.

posted 02-20-2007 08:31 AM            

thank you very much for your answer. I thought that since WMF states 90g for silverplated, Ercuis & Raynaud 150g (interpreted by them in 63 microns)and Christofle 120g (info from "pavillon" in Germany) that there should be a link between microns (thickness) and weight of silver applied. I suppose that the more grams or microns the better quality the silver plated piece has. But thanks again for the info that Christofle's "silver" does not contain silver, it is with silver plated.