Buying antique sterling silver napkin rings on s

Collecting silver napkin rings has begee extremely popular and this is a short guide to finding and buying really nice rings.
Recently there has been increasing interest in collecting sterling silver napkin rings. This is not a surprise because these rings gee in all shapes, sizes, materials and designs. They were designed to hold the table napkin and were originally round or ovalin shape. More recently rectangular, square and even triangular napkin holders were made and became very popular as wedding or christening gifts. The earliest napkin rings date back to about 1836 although it would be extremely unusual to find one which is that old. If the rings are of English origin it is very easily to date them as they will all be hallmarked with their city of origin (usually Birmingham, London, Chester or Sheffield) and the date that they were made. Napkin rings made in Europe or the United States do not have such detailed hallmarks but one can obtain a good idea of which period they were made by their decorations and engravings. Extremely ornate napkin rings were usually made in the Victorian or art nouveau periods and some of these rings are indeed works or arts and can realise very high prices at auction. It was very fashionable to engrave rings with the name of the owner and some of these engravings are extremely ornate, detailed and interesting. When looking for interesting or valuable napkin rings the buyer should always take note of the condition of the ring. If there are dings, dents, splits in the silver or heavy scratches the value of the ring is diminished. Clearly the most expensive rings would be the most attractive with considerable ornamentation, interesting beaded or decorated edges and a hallmark indicating that this is indeed an antique piece. Some people collect rings with interesting engravings and some collect rings engraved with particular names. Obviously rings made by the famous silver makers such as Georg Jensen, Tiffany, Liberty or Gorham will usually reach high prices if they are in perfect condition. Some collectors specialize in children's rings which may show nursey rhymes or the alphabet and these are extremely expensive. Some collect very small napkin rings which are know as breakfast rings because they were used in Germany and Holland to hold a paper napkin at breakfast. What is extraordinary is the wide range of napkin rings that are available and should satisfy any collector's appetite for these beautiful collectable items. To find them on okay search for STERLING NAPKIN or SILVER NAPKIN