At Bloomingdale's, a 5 pc. sterling place setting by Wallace in "Grande Baroque" sells for $1000. A silverplate 5 pc. plate setting by Christofle in "Royal Ciselé" sells for $572. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to register for $7000, let alone $12,000, in flatware.
Enter: eBay! Since inheriting Grandmama's beautiful heirloom china, and thoroughly scouting out and collecting the missing pieces, I realized that we could do the same thing with our flatware!
Funny story actually. I was introduced to Reed & Barton while working in New York, and have always liked the "Dresden Rose" pattern, as it fuses traditional and modern style with its rose and scroll border and smooth sculpted handle. While searching for an affordable set, I came across another beautiful pattern called "White Orchid" by Community (now Oneida). I was having a hard time deciding between the two and posted a picture of the patterns side-by-side on Facebook. David's mom responded, recognizing the "Dresden Rose." It turns out that this was the exact same pattern that David's parents' picked out for their wedding 33 years ago! We ended up liking the "White Orchid" pattern with our china better, but it's still a fun story to tell.
After months--and I mean months--of waiting for what seems to be the longest eBay transaction ever, David and I finally received our silver! I had already begun collecting the missing pieces to complete the set, but was waiting for the bulk of it (service for 12, storage chest, some serving pieces) to arrive, so needless to say, I was a nervous wreck until it finally did...but the wait was well worth it, because believe it or not, the set cost us less than $100! Talk about a great deal.
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| This is not the exact set we received, but it is very similar. It came with the original storage chest, manufacturer guarantee, and even the original wedding gift card. Isn't that neat? |
What about you? Did you register for silverware? Would you consider purchasing a vintage set? Please feel free to share your stories and pictures!
Luv,
the Bride
Oh, White Orchid is lovely! It really is astonishing how much silver costs now. When I married 40 (yikes!) years ago, a sterling salad fork was around $15. Mine are now listed at $119. What a great deal you found on the White Orchid!
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