Charles Horner | Sterling Silver Serviette Ring | Engraved Flowers | Chester | 1918

Charles Horner | Sterling Silver Serviette Ring | Engraved Flowers | Chester | 1918

Made in the final year of the Great War, it shows a craft that carried on through it.

Charles Horner of Halifax, Yorkshire, was known for its jewellery, thimbles, hatpins and small silver wares. Its work was among the silver assayed at Chester, an assay office that closed in 1962. The Chester hallmark remains a distinctive part of the history of British silver.

The serviette ring has a gently waisted band between plain rolled rims. It is engraved all the way round with a band of flowers and leafy sprays between fine milled borders, with a small vacant cartouche on one side. It is fully hallmarked with the maker’s mark C.H, the lion passant, the Chester shield and the date letter S for 1918–19.

Very good condition. There are fine surface scratches, including faint marks within the cartouche. The engraving and hallmarks remain crisp.

Key Details

• Maker: Charles Horner, Halifax (maker’s mark C.H)
• Hallmarks: Chester, date letter S (1918–19)
• Period: George V
• Material: sterling silver
• Decoration: engraved band of flowers and foliage between milled borders; small vacant cartouche
• Dimensions: height 1.6 cm; diameter 4.5 cm
• Weight: 10 g
• Condition: very good; fine surface scratches
• Buyer profile: collectors of Chester-hallmarked silver and of Charles Horner, and anyone looking for a small antique silver gift

Collector Appeal

Charles Horner’s name is closely associated with British jewellery and small silverwork, and the Chester hallmark adds a further point of interest. This ring brings the two together in a clearly dated piece, with floral engraving running all the way round the band.

The flowers remain in the silver, long after the hands that engraved them have gone.