Gorham | Sterling Silver Serviette Ring | Engraved 'H' | Birmingham | 1919

Gorham | Sterling Silver Serviette Ring | Engraved ‘H’ | Birmingham | 1919

An American firm, an English assay office, and a single engraved initial: this small ring carries more of a story than its weight suggests.

The Gorham Manufacturing Company of Providence, Rhode Island, became one of America’s leading silver manufacturers. Its presence in Britain began with a London agency in the 1890s, followed in 1904 by the registration of its G·M·Co maker’s mark at the Birmingham Assay Office. This serviette ring bears that mark with a full set of Birmingham hallmarks, a less familiar side of the firm’s history.

The serviette ring has a gently waisted cylindrical body between two raised decorative borders and plain rolled rims. The front is engraved with a script initial ‘H’. It is fully hallmarked with the maker’s mark G·M·Co, the Birmingham anchor, the lion passant and the date letter u for 1919–20.

Excellent condition, with no dents or splits. The hallmarks are clear.

Key Details

• Maker: Gorham Manufacturing Company (maker’s mark G·M·Co)
• Hallmarks: Birmingham, date letter u (1919–20)
• Period: George V
• Material: sterling silver
• Engraving: script initial ‘H’
• Dimensions: height 2.5 cm; diameter 4.3 cm
• Weight: 12 g
• Condition: excellent
• Buyer profile: collectors of hallmarked silver and of Gorham, and anyone looking for a monogrammed ‘H’ gift

Collector Appeal

Gorham is best known for American silver, and English-hallmarked pieces bearing its G·M·Co mark show a lesser-known side of the firm. This ring combines that maker’s mark with a clear 1919 Birmingham date letter and a neatly engraved initial.

The initial remains, though the name and the table it once belonged to have passed from view.