A Lifetime of Sterling, TablewareToday magazine

A Lifetime of Sterling
Amy Stavis

LIFETIME BRANDS' sterling collections represent without a doubt the finest assortments of sterling flatware launched over the last three centuries. That's right centuries. With prestige names like Wallace, Towle, Kirk Stieff, Gorham, International, and Tuttle, Lifetime Brands' sterling dream team encompasses the best, the brightest, and the longest-lasting sterling flatware in the U.S. And while the fortunes of sterling have diminished this past decade, the $25 million category for Lifetime still holds merits for a particular customer. Lifetime – the largest manufacturer of the world's sterling and the only remaining American producer – will continue to cultivate its sterling cachet. Scott Bial – whose three decades in the business make him as good an authority on sterling as any – is the president of Lifetime's metals division. "I'm a realist and I understand the market has decreased and is unlikely to return," he proffers. "But sterling remains an aspirational and luxury product for a small market and that's who we're here for." Interestingly, many of the company's iconic powerhouse patterns celebrate auspicious anniversaries in 2010 and deserve a moment in the spotlight for their capacity to endure and delight through the decades.

KIRK STIEFF'S

Old Maryland Plain

1850


CELEBRATING A JAW-DROPPING 160 years in circulation, Old Maryland Plain was launched the same year that Harriet Tubman led slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad. One of sterling's simpler designs, the understated, elegant, and unadorned Old Maryland Plain sports a curved handle and slim stem. Atypical of sterling's more ornately decorated designs, Old Maryland Plain was developed by then 33-year-old Baltimore-based Kirk Company, which was known for introducing to America the European metalworking technique repoussé – where a metal is decorated by hammering from the reverse side. Baltimore was a city of great affluence and industrial might and Kirk did very well thanks to his inventive and elaborate designs which were chosen by Presidents, statesmen, and prominent mid-Atlantic families alike. [America's oldest silversmith joined hands with the Stieff Company in 1979, resulting in Kirk Stieff.] Old Maryland Plain was inspired by Mayflower, a pattern launched four years before Old Maryland Plain and which featured delicate scrollwork. Old Maryland Plain used the same simple shape reminiscent of old colonial silver but without the decoration. Old Maryland Plain finally got its own decoration in 1936 – a design very similar to Mayflower – with the launch of Old Maryland Engraved, one of sterling's most popular patterns and a consummate hit at the bridal registry. Old Maryland Plain retails for $640, five pieces.

GORHAM'S

Chantilly

1895

IN THE HISTORY OF STERLING, Gorham – founded in 1831 in Rhode Island by Jabez Gorham – is the number one brand ever and Chantilly is its number one pattern. Gorham had the greatest range of patterns, the broadest distribution of designs, and sold the most sterling in the U.S., dominating the American silver landscape in the 1800s, culminating with the release at the end of the century of Chantilly, arguably the aristocracy of silver, the pinnacle and epitome of all sterling flatware. Introduced in 1895 (the birth year of Babe Ruth, J. Edgar Hoover, Buckminster Fuller, Buster Keaton, and Rudolph Valentino – an amazingly august year), Chantilly celebrates its 115th anniversary this year. Its fiddle shape, beveled edge, satin finish, and intricate rococo scrollwork culminates in a fleur-de-lys at the base. Although it's currently the number two seller at Lifetime Brands – Wallace's Grand Baroque is number one – Chantilly has generated upwards of $200 million in its lifetime. The pattern – inspired by and named for Louis XV's spectacular palace half an hour from Paris, but it's also crafted like fine Chantilly lace – is the brainchild of William Christmas Codman, a prolific designer during his 23-year Gorham tenure. Over the last century Chantilly has been a fixture on Air Force One, royal homes around the world, and is a top registry pick among marrying couples. Chantilly's success has been surprising to many which is a surprise in itself. Chantilly is a perfect blend of elegant ornamentation that thoughtfully illustrates sterling's classic beauty. With hundreds of accessory items still available, a five piece place setting of Chantilly retails for $640.


INTERNATIONAL'S

Joan of Arc

1940

INTERNATIONAL SILVER'S Joan of Arc bears quite a resemblance to Gorham's Chantilly. Both patterns were inspired by designs of the court of Louis XV and feature lush rococo swirls, but Joan of Arc's crown at the tip of the fleur-de-lys is more pronounced than Chantilly's. Joan of Arc is reminiscent of the banner the warrior saint carried, with flowing scrolls bordering the contours of the handles reflecting a grace, femininity, and solemnity for which the young heroine was known. The minimally decorated design really put International Silver on the map. Founded in 1898 by an amalgam of 14 New England silver producers – many in operation since colonial times – International Silver didn't produce any substantially selling patterns until Joan of Arc's debut in 1940, as America was on the eve of war. The war years proved profitable for the company; another International powerhouse, Prelude, followed fast on the heels of Joan of Arc's launch, leading to the company's post-war heyday. "International Silver wasn't known for any distinctive style," Bial tutors. "It was one of the smaller companies until Joan of Arc. This pattern was different." But not really; there were already many similar patterns available, most notably the aforementioned Chantilly. The design, though, was a little larger in size which may have been a contributing factor in its success. "It was a pretty pattern, but not exceptional," says Bial. "It benefited from the sheer size of International Silver which dominated the sterling and silverplate market after the war." While it's not conclusive if Joan of Arc validated International Silver or International Silver validated Joan of Arc, the synergy is undeniable. Joan of Arc retails for $640, five pieces.


WALLACE'S

Romance of the Sea

1950

IT WAS JUST TEN YEARS after Joan of Arc's launch, but America was in a very different place with war over and the country flush with prosperity. Concurrent with the birth of the baby boom was the birth of Wallace's Romance of the Sea, a design purely of its time. Created by William S. Warren, undoubtedly the most successful sterling designer ever – Warren also created Grande Baroque, Sir Christopher, Rose Point, and Grand Colonial – Romance of the Sea was part of the silver designer's Third Dimension Beauty oeuvre. Warren was obsessed with achieving beauty from all possible views – front, back, and profile – and he certainly achieved this with Romance of the Sea, a dramatic crescendo of scrolls, swirls, shells, beading, and wave-like motifs that seems as if it were born from the sea; the sculptured handle, in fact, appears to be a mermaid's silhouette. "Warren was a visionary," Bial enthuses. "In this small industry of ours, he helped Wallace rise to the top and silver took a turn for the better thanks to him. He created something from a very old industry that really never existed until him. His third-dimensional take on sterling created designs that bring perfection and newness from all angles. He put art and sculpture into flatware." Warren was also a poet and a dreamer, often concocting stories around the designs he created, designs which helped catapult Wallace Silversmiths to America's preeminent silver house. Wallace Silversmiths was founded in 1835 in Connecticut by Robert Wallace, the son of a silversmithing Scottish immigrant. The business did mostly contract work producing flatware for others, but didn't register any real acclaim until Warren joined the company in the early 1930s and delivered his six canon, threedimensional opus which included Romance of the Sea – $750 five pieces, also available in gold accents – one of the more unique patterns ever made.

TOWLE'S

Queen Elizabeth I

1970

IN 1970 THE COUNTRY WAS embedded in Vietnam, we were still recovering from the assassinations of Martin and Bobby while lamenting four dead students at Kent State, the Beatles had just called it quits, and we were on the brink of disco, Watergate, and the Ford Pinto. We were going to hell in a handbasket. Into this cauldron of confusion and calamity comes the calm, classic Queen Elizabeth I, the youngest pattern in our anniversary salute from America's oldest silversmith, Towle Silversmiths, founded in 1690 and celebrating its own 320th anniversary this year. Now firmly entrenched in middle age, Queen Elizabeth I – taking a design page from the Chantilly handbook, it's remarkably similar although sparser and cleaner – was inspired by 16th century Tudor England, the era of Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh, and, of course, Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen who reigned during one of the country's most prosperous periods. Queen Elizabeth I pays homage to the artists who flourished during this golden Elizabethan age. Created by Towle's head designer Harold Nock – another master artist in the vein of Wallace's William Warren who created his own stable of notables including Old Master, Craftsman, Old Brocade, Old Lace, and Chippendale – Queen Elizabeth I sports delicate floral motifs at its tip and neck, and is balanced by sculptured openwork curves. It's Towle's number two pattern – after Nock's masterpiece Old Master – and a five piece place setting is $750.

EACH OF THESE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRANTS – plus dozens more from the Lifetime Brands catalog – afford little peeks into the history of America. "Sterling is the oldest continually manufactured product in the U.S.," says Bial. "Its always been an important part of the home. With casual lifestyles and casual attitudes I think we've lost some part of who we are, who we were. But as long as I'm here the quality level of our product will never be compromised and we'll continue to think of ways to promote and market this category to today's consumers."

A Lifetime of Sterling, TablewareToday magazine

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