Tips & Advice

Polishing & Maintenance

Silver oxidises when it comes into contact with light and oxygen. Cutlery should therefore be stored airtight, dry and in a dark place. Cutlery should not come into contact with materials containing rubber, e.g. rubber bands. If you eat food with a high sulfur content (e.g. eggs, ketchup, salmon, etc.) always wash up immediately after the meal. If you use the cutlery regularly, it does not need to be polished. If your cutlery has oxidised, you can easily restore the shine with silver dip or silver paste.

When it comes to polishing agents, there are two different types, a liquid and a cream.

The liquid is very convenient as you simply dip your cutlery in (knives separately), leave them there for 1-2 minutes and then take them out, rinse in warm water and dry with a soft cloth. This "Silver Dip" can also be used for jewellery (avoid pearls and similar items). What you should bear in mind when using this "Silver Dip" is that you should be at a sink with a newspaper underneath (try to avoid spilling on the sink, as it can cause rust damage) and preferably with a window open. The "Silver Dip" does not give as good results as the cream, but it is more convenient and faster.

The "Silver Cream" is for those who want to do a thorough job that gives long-lasting results. The cream is very good for truly oxidised surfaces and larger silver items. It takes a little longer with the cream, but the result is much better. It comes with a "sponge" that you soak and put a little cream on (the cream is a little hard when it is new, but you can pour a little water over it and leave it for a while so it becomes creamier) and rub into the cutlery/silver item. Rub until you think the surface is good and rinse the cutlery/silver item under warm water, dry with a soft cloth. If the surface is truly oxidised (black), you may need to do it several times.

It is important to generally bear in mind when polishing not to use anything (e.g. a cloth) that scratches or wears down the silver surface excessively, as the silver plating can be damaged (which is found on both silver and nickel silver cutlery). If you do not get a good finish or if there are stains that will not go away, you may need to leave the cutlery/silver item to be re-plated.

When polishing candlesticks, you should try to avoid getting water or cream on the underside and absolutely not dip them completely in water, as this can eventually cause the filling inside to come loose.

Washing

All food silver, silver and nickel silver can be washed in the dishwasher. As silver is a very durable and resistant material, it actually withstands it better than any other material. Silver can also withstand modern detergents, but be careful to keep silver and stainless steel separate. In other words, keep the knives (with the stainless steel blades) separate in the "cutlery basket" and place them in the same direction.

New silver cutlery should be washed by hand before use. Food acids, found in e.g. ketchup, eggs, lemon, etc. can attack the silver and the stainless steel knife blade, therefore cutlery should be washed immediately after use. Soaking the cutlery or using detergents containing chlorine is not recommended as it can damage the cutlery.

Choosing the Right Cutlery

NOTE: This is merely general guidance based on the "most common" purchases. Always check your old food silver cutlery by measuring it if you are unsure. You can also contact us for advice!

Food Cutlery

Used in the past for eating the main course. Today it is very unusual to buy this food silver (except for a few models where only food cutlery is available), instead today people buy table cutlery to eat the main course. Check carefully that it is not the table cutlery you need. The knives are made with a stainless steel blade, this is because the blade would have become too soft in silver.

Table Cutlery

Used for eating the main course (with the exception of a few models where only food cutlery is available). In some models there are 2 different types of knives. One with a short blade and one with a long blade, be aware of which one you need (measure your old knives). The knives are made with a stainless steel blade, this is because the blade would have become too soft in silver.

Sandwich Cutlery

Used for eating the starter.

Dessert Cutlery

Used for eating dessert. Some choose to buy 12 dessert spoons instead of 12 table spoons, as they may not eat soup with fine cutlery very often and instead spend the money on dessert cutlery.

Teaspoon

Available in some of the larger models. Used for tea. Very unusual cutlery. Check that it is not the coffee spoon you need.

Pastry Fork

Used among other things for eating cake and pastries. Common in southern Sweden.

Coffee Spoon

Used when drinking coffee. By far the most common cutlery in all models.

Moka/Espresso/Mulled Wine Spoon

Can be used for moka, espresso or mulled wine. It is smaller than the coffee spoon. Check that it is not the coffee spoon you need.

Cake Server

The cake server is used for cutting and serving the cake. Can also be used for pies and sandwich cakes, for example. In many models there are two different servers, one with a stainless steel blade and one entirely in silver (hence the price difference). The one with the stainless steel blade usually has "chunkier" handles which are then filled, unlike the one entirely in silver which is usually stamped in one piece.

Fish Cutlery

Used for fish dishes.

Salad/Serving Cutlery

Used for serving food from a platter, also for salad. Available in both spoon and fork. In many models there are two different salad/serving cutlery, one with a stainless steel front and one entirely in silver (hence the price difference).

About Silver

Sterling silver has a fineness of at least 830 thousandths, i.e. 83% silver. It is an alloy (metal mixture) of two or more metals, i.e. elements. The remaining 17% is usually copper. Sometimes the silver can be entirely or partially alloyed with cadmium. 830 silver is called working silver and is the most common fineness in food silver. The most common jewellery alloy is 925 thousandths (92.5%) silver and the rest is copper. 925 silver is also called Sterling or Sterling Silver. Sterling silver is whiter and softer to work with than working silver. Therefore 925 silver is suitable for forging while 830 is suitable for cutlery.

Within a few years we may see 800 thousandths silver in cutlery and jewellery. This fineness is common on the continent. Silver is used for jewellery, food silver and decorative items, but more than 60% of the available silver is consumed in the electronics and photo industry. Very early civilizations associated the yellow colour of gold with the sun and for the Egyptians gold was the symbol of their sun god Ra. In the same way silver was associated with the moon for its more silver-white glow. The original name for silver was "Luna", which means moon. Later the name of silver was changed to "argentum", which means white and shining. Silver occurs naturally, but usually it is bound in chemical compounds. In cases where it occurs naturally, it is often together with gold.
Source: www.v2-sp.se - Jan-Erik Gardehall

Manufacturing

All cutlery we sell is manufactured by MEMA/GAB in Eskilstuna and is of the highest quality.

MEMA/GAB's silver cutlery is produced using traditional craft methods. It takes many years to learn to manufacture genuine, handmade food silver and requires the right skill and the right tools. They have thousands of tools which they meticulously maintain and constantly check down to the smallest micro-detail.

First they carefully select the silver, shape the silver piece in several rounds and in several stages with exact and precise tools.

It takes the craftsmen around six weeks to turn a silver sheet into a finished piece of cutlery. A knife goes through approximately 15 steps, a fork approximately 13 steps and a spoon approximately 12 steps, before they are finished. Skilled craftsmen at Mema/GAB follow the cutlery from the very beginning, specialists in different treatments take care of the cutlery step by step.

Quality Control

The hallmarks in the silver cutlery are a guarantee that you have bought genuine handmade silver cutlery from Mema/GAB.

Just learning to check and quality assure cutlery takes at least 6 months. The eye must, among other things, be trained to be able to see very small reflections and reflections in the silver.

Representatives from the Swedish National Institute for Testing are continuously coming and checking that the silver content in the cutlery is correct. All for the consumer's safety.