The paperclip we use today has a design so perfectly simple that it seems odd that it once competed with dozens of alternative designs. But the Gem paperclip, yes it does have a name, is the winner of a paperclip war that lasted for best part of a century.

The Gem paperclip first emerged around 1892, competing with many designs from manufacturers keen to get a slice of the office equipment market. They wanted to take advantage of new mass production methods that extruded wire and folded it into unique shapes that they could then patent, believing that the winner of the war would make a financial killing.

But creating a design that was unique and could be patented, was easily made and met the usage criteria presented a challenge. The perfect paperclip had to be easy to slip over a number of pages without catching or tearing them, be lightweight so that it used as little wire as possible and would be strong enough to be reused time and time again.

Many of the solutions were bizarre, look complicated to make, used far too much wire in construction and appear fiendishly difficult to use. Some don’t seen to be strong enough to be endlessly recycled as the Gem is, surely one of the first green products with an infinite lifetime. Despite this they are still churned out by the billion each year, so we must assume that they have a life of their own and after fulfilling their allotted work on Earth, disappear to planet Gem for a quite retirement, in the same solar system as planet BIC where ball point pens disappear.

The Gem has become a much-copied object, made in giant sizes as abstract works of art, as daisy chain styled necklaces and, annoyingly to many people, as the animated helper in Microsoft Word.

In homage to the Gem, we have created a solid silver version that can be used by paper shuffling billionaires or more feasibly as a silver money clip. It is 2 inches (51mm long) and makes a lovely silver gift. It will be admired by anyone that sees it and of course, now you can tell them the history of the Gem.

The metal skewers used in the kitchen were thought not to be suitable for a fine table and were replaced with silver skewers, complete with a loop on the end, the same as you will be familiar with today if you get a fowl from a traditional butcher.

In later years these silver skewers began to be used as paper knives and letter openers and as they are rarely seen in antique shops nowadays, we now make faithful copies of the originals in our workshops. The handle of the skewer uses the hallmarking as part of the decoration and we can engrave a message or name on the reverse of the handle or along the blade.  We make two silver skewers, one is double forged and is the same either side, while a less expensive copy has a flat reverse. You can find them on our website at Silver Skewer Letter Opener and Paper Knife and Silver Skewer Letter Opener Georgian Style.

Instructions for using skewers can be found in a book written at the time called, “A NEW SYSTEM DOMESTIC COOKERY; FORMED UPON PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMY, AND ADAPTED TO THE USE OF PRIVATE FAMILIES” – BY A LADY (MRS. RUNDELL), Published in London 1847

DIRECTIONS FOR TRUSSING POULTRY AND GAME

In the country, however, there are generally no poulterers, and consequently families are under the necessity of killing and trussing their own poultry. To be prepared, therefore, for this business, attention to the following general rules will be found useful.

TO TRUSS TURKEYS

Having properly picked the bird, break the leg bone close to the foot, and draw out the strings from the thigh, for which purpose hang it on a hook fastened in the wall. Cut off the neck close to the back ; but be careful to leave the crop skin sufficiently long to turn over the back. Then proceed to take out the crop, and loosen the liver and gut at the throat end with the middle finger. Then cut off the vent, and take out the gut. Pull out the gizzard with a crooked, sharp-pointed iron wire, and the liver will soon follow; but be careful not to break the gall. Wipe the inside perfectly clean with a wet cloth ; having done which, cut the breast-bone through on each side close to the back, and draw the legs close to the crop. Then put a cloth on the breast, and beat the high bone down with a rolling-pin till it lies fast.

Skewered Fowl

If the turkey is to be trussed for boiling, cut the legs off; then put the middle finger into the inside, raise the skin of the legs, and put them under the apron of the turkey. Put a skewer into the joint of the wing and the middle joint of the leg, and run it through the body and the other leg and wing. The liver and gizzard must be put in the pinions ; but be careful first to open the gizzard and take out the filth, and the gall of the liver. Then turn the small end of the pinion on the back, and tie a packthread over the ends of the legs to keep them in their places.

If the turkey is to be roasted, leave the legs on, put a skewer in the joint of the wing, tuck the legs close up, and put the skewer through the middle of the legs and body. On the other side, put another skewer in at the small part of the leg. Put it close on the outside of the sidesman, and put the skewer through, and the same on the other side. Put the liver and gizzard between the pinions, and turn the point of the pinion on the back. Then put, close above the pinions, another skewer through the body of the bird.

Turkey-poults must be trussed as follows: take the neck from the head and body, but do not remove the neck skin. They are drawn in the same manner as a turkey. Put a skewer through the joint of the pinion, tuck the legs close up, run the skewer through the middle of the leg, through the body, and so on the other side. Cut off the under part of the bill, twist the skin of the neck round, and put the head on the point of the skewer, with the bill end forwards. Another skewer must be put into the sidesman, and the legs placed between the sidesman and apron on each side. Pass the skewer through all, and cut off the toe-nails. It is very common to lard them on the breast. The liver and gizzard may or may not be used, as may happen to be preferred.

Long ago it was usual to bury the child’s tooth in the ground, it was said that this would encourage a new tooth to grow in its place, it would also prevent a wicked witch getting hold of it and putting a curse on the poor little thing!

More recently this evolved into burying the tooth under the pillow, and when the child was asleep the Tooth Fairy would exchange it for a coin. This goes back to Viking times when a tooth fee was paid to children for their little teeth, which were worn as necklaces to give strength in battle.

The wearing of children’s teeth around the neck is less popular today, and we prefer to think that they go to build Fairy Castles in the sky or are scattered in the Heavens and turn into little stars!

At  Hersey Silversmiths we hand make Sterling Silver Tooth Fairy Boxes which can be left under the pillow with a tooth in.  When the child awakes they can open the box to find that pound coins have been left by the Fairies and the tooth has gone… now that’s magic!

The silver makers of Taxco in Mexico make silver bracelets and since they are all handmade, every piece is slightly different, but no less perfect for that.

You can buy individual pieces such as pendants and earrings, but they also have a terrific range of matching silver bracelets and necklaces which offer you a 10% saving over the individual piece prices.

One piece that stood out for us was their traditional Mexican necklace, featuring a hand-beaten silver disk, handmade oval beads, all threaded onto a black leather lace. Traditionally made, but looking gorgeously modern and very affordable.

While most of the jewellery is from Mexico, Corazon Latino also offer a beautiful range of amber pendants using amber from the Baltic and the Dominican Republic. This means you can choose the traditional colours that you may be familiar with from the Baltic as well as Dominican Fire amber which is a bright pale amber with dark marbling from the prehistoric plant matter.

I’m sure that the people over at Corazon Latino will appreciate you visiting their website, so pop over and have a look soon.

Of course, you don’t have to be a Michelin starred restaurant to have these splendid looking cruet sets on your dining table. We have always sold them individually on our website, and now we have paired them as a gift, to yourself, or to a friend. They make lovely wedding and anniversary gifts, so take time to look at them more closely at Silver Salt and Pepper Churns.

You’ll find silver pendants, keyrings, bangles and other gifts at a range of prices to suit all pockets. Many of these gifts can be engraved, so you can personalise them with a name or message to make them extra special. Don’t wait to long before ordering…our engraver can get a little busy in the run up to Christmas.

We hope Freddie and Sophie have plenty of time to entertain friends when they move to Los Angeles and that the Salt and Pepper Mills become a talking point over diner. We could do with a few A-list celebs placing orders with us directly, although they are always very welcome to drop by and meet us in Teddington.

Copoclephily is the word that describes the collecting of keyrings, so a copoclephilist is a keyring collector. The word comes from the Greek kope – handle; plus kleis – key; and phile – one that loves, likes, or is attracted to.

A useful word if you’re a crossword or pub quiz addict, but I doubt whether you’ll come across it very often!

Take time to look at our silver keyrings movie opposite or watch it here: Silver Keyrings

Most men choose a rose or a carnation as these are hardy flowers and except on the hottest days should not wilt. But if you want to wear a more exotic flower, you will need to keep it watered and fresh in a lapel vase – sometimes known as a boutonnière.

Very popular with the Victorian’s, a lapel vase clips to the buttonhole, sometimes to the front of the lapel, but more popularly hidden behind. This has the advantage of making the flower the focal point of the lapel rather than the holder that should be discreet and hidden from view.

You should re-cut the flower stem before putting it into the vase so that the water may be transported to the flower more easily. Warm water is better as it is less of a shock to the flower. Some people add a few grains of sugar to the water as nourishment for the flower.

The buttonhole is traditionally worn on the left; the same side as a pocket-handkerchief. Many tailors will have added a stem loop on the reverse of the lapel, usually made of silk, through which the stem of a flower or the vase can be inserted. The front of our buttonhole holder features a very simple clip that hangs over the buttonhole.

Buttonholes for Weddings

Wedding etiquette dictates that the groom, best man, ushers and fathers of the bride and groom should wear buttonholes, so a buttonhole holder can be a useful item of equipment to use, especially if it is going to be a long day with the chance that the flowers will wilt. Traditionally, the groom wore his buttonhole above his heart as a symbol of his love and the bride broke off a piece of her bouquet and tucked it into the grooms buttonhole, so the groom was wearing the brides colours.

A silver buttonhole holder is a gift that will be appreciated by garden lovers who wish to take something from their garden with them on their trips into town. They certainly are an elegant gentleman’s accessory and now that ties are worn less frequently, are making something of a comeback as a way of brightening up the visual a appearance of a suited gent.

Designed in the shape of antique butter churns, the pepper mill is made in sterling silver and blackwood while the salt grinder is made sterling silver and ivorine. Blackwood is a dense, hard and lustrous wood valued by furniture makers since Egyptian times; ivorine is a man-made ivory substitute used for nearly a century by jewellers, fishing reel and billiard ball and cue makers. Inside the traditional exterior of each churn there are modern and durable stainless steel mechanism that can be adjusted to give a fine to coarse grind, while both items are hallmarked around the base that can also be engraved with a name or special message.

You can order these mills alone or as a matching pair. They come wrapped in tissue paper and are delivered in handsome black presentation boxes.

They make great gifts for weddings and anniversaries, or if you own a restaurant, beautiful table settings that your customers will admire – as previously mentioned in our news item about the Ledbury in Notting Hill and the Bath Priory Hotel.