Gorgeous & rare antique French Napoleon III era .800 (nearly sterling) silver bladed 7 5/8" fruit knife set with elegant solid mother of pearl handles, unique hooked addition to the blades and fabulous condition! A elegant as can be, very French with the pearl & silver and the function quite unique for fruit, the hook on the blade for peeling rinds surely. The collars on the handles bear no hallmarks but they're also silver of course. The blades all bear the French Minerve or Minerva hallmarks, the shape of the mark and the tiny number "2" within designate them as being in .800 or better silver content (at least 80% pure so just under the .925 standard for "sterling" silver). The slightly lower silver content is quite common in knife blades, giving them added strength over pure sterling which would have more of a tendency to bend due to it being a softer metal. There are silversmith marks on the blades, what appears to be "GB" but I've not been able to find reference in our guides, perhaps the works of an apprentice? In any event, the set is simply stunning. Fabulous!
Very good to excellent condition. An extremely subtle bend in a blade possible but no real notable damage, no chips, cracks or damage to the pearl handles. Just wonderful! See pictures for weight and measurements.
