Most silverware arrives here in the box it has lived in for decades. A canteen of sterling flatware from a grandparent’s sideboard, a tea service that has not poured since the seventies, a tray with a monogram nobody remembers. Okanagan Gold and Silver buys sterling silverware in Kelowna, tests and weighs it in front of you, and tells you plainly whether what you have is solid silver or plate. Bring it in as it is. The evaluation is free and there is no obligation to sell.
There is no minimum quantity. One serving spoon is welcome, and so is a twelve place setting nobody has used in thirty years.
A set does not have to be complete and it does not have to match. Odd forks, a lone serving spoon and three different patterns in one drawer are all priced the same way, on the silver in them. If there is gold or jewellery in the same drawer, we buy that as well, and you can see everything we buy in Kelowna on one page.
This one question decides whether a set is worth a real sum or worth keeping for the table, so it is worth two minutes before you load the car.
Marks hide in awkward places. On flatware they sit on the back of the handle, and on hollowware they are usually on the foot, the underside or beneath a handle. Worn plate gives itself away with a warmer copper or yellow tone at the edges, the tines and the high points where the layer has rubbed through. Magnet tests are not reliable on tableware, because base metals vary from one maker to the next. The marks are.
If your pieces turn out to be plated, we will tell you. Silver plate is a thin layer of silver over a base metal, so it holds very little metal value, and we will not make an offer that quietly treats it as solid. Hearing that from us costs you nothing and it is better than guessing at home.
Silverware is priced on the silver in it: the weight in troy ounces multiplied by the purity, measured against the live silver spot price on the day you visit. One troy ounce is 31.103 grams, and sterling is 92.5 per cent silver, so a sterling piece is priced on that share of what it weighs rather than the whole of it.
A twelve place setting sounds like a single number, but a set is not a single weight, and three things move it:
We sort your silver, group it by purity, weigh it in front of you on a certified scale and show you the arithmetic instead of one unexplained figure. Our article on what makes a silverware set valuable goes further into patterns, makers and rarity.
Plenty of things in a china cabinet look like silver without containing any.
We will still test anything you are unsure about at no charge, and there is no awkwardness in bringing a box that turns out to be half plate. It usually is. We would rather give you a straight answer in two minutes than have you carry the question around for another year.
A full canteen and a tea service take longer to work through than a handful of chains, so arriving earlier in the day gives the sorting some room. The wooden chest itself holds no silver value, though most people bring it so nothing rattles loose on the way in.
We are at #202D 269 Bernard Ave in downtown Kelowna, open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm, with no appointment needed. Sets come in regularly from further afield, so if you are driving in from West Kelowna, Vernon or Penticton, you are in good company. Call 250-718-8979 or email [email protected] if you would rather describe a set before making the trip.
Selling other silver as well? Our main page on how we sell silver in Kelowna covers coins, bullion, jewellery and scrap.
At our store at #202D 269 Bernard Ave in downtown Kelowna. We are an authorized and licensed precious metals buyer, open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm, and no appointment is needed. Bring your cutlery in and we will test, sort and weigh it in front of you at no charge, with no obligation to sell afterwards.
Silver plate carries only a thin layer of silver over a base metal, so it holds very little metal value and we generally do not buy it. We will test your pieces free of charge and tell you which ones are plated, because plated and solid items sit in the same drawer far more often than not. Where a plated set has decorative or antique interest rather than metal value, an antique dealer or an auction house is the better route.
Yes, when they are solid silver. Tea services, trays, salvers, bowls and serving pieces are weighed and priced on their silver content in exactly the same way as flatware. Check the underside for a Sterling, 925 or hallmark stamp, and bring the piece in if you cannot find one, because marks on hollowware usually sit on the foot or beneath a handle.
It depends on the weight and the purity of the set rather than the number of pieces in it. Sterling is 92.5 per cent silver, and we price that share of the weight against the live silver spot price on the day you visit. Knives usually weigh more than they contribute, because the handles are hollow and filled and the blades are stainless steel. Everything is weighed in front of you and the figures are shown.
No. Tarnish is a surface reaction and has no effect on the silver underneath, and polishing removes a small amount of metal every time it is done. Bring the set in as it is, tarnish and all.
Yes. A set does not need to be complete or matching, and an engraving or a monogram does not change how much silver is in a piece. Odd forks, a single serving spoon and mixed patterns are all weighed and priced the same way as a full canteen.
Yes. We record valid government-issued photo identification for every purchase, as a licensed dealer is required to, whatever the size or the value of the sale.
Find out what your sterling is actually worth before you decide anything at all. Visit us at #202D 269 Bernard Ave, Kelowna BC V1Y 6N2, call 250-718-8979, or email [email protected]. Open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm. The evaluation is free, and knowing the number does not commit you to selling.