Offered for sale is a gorgeous vintage sterling silver floral Repousse signed bracelet made by S. Kirk & Son. Samuel Kirk was an American silversmith who primarily worked out of Baltimore, Maryland. Born in 1793, Samuel began his career as an apprentice to a local silversmith in 1810. He later established his own business in Baltimore in 1820 and became known for introducing the Repousse style to the American market. From 1846 he partnered with his sons. The Kirk family owned the business until 1979 when they sold it to another famous family of Baltimore, Maryland silversmiths, The Stieff Company. It was renamed, Kirk-Stieff, and as part of the purchase agreement, the Stieff Company agreed to put “Kirk” first in the new company name. The Stieff family continued for 10 more years and in 1990 sold to the Lenox Company. It’s interesting to note that the patterns that were created by each of the individual families, Kirk and Stieff, would continue to be marked with the original names of the creators. In other words, patterns such as Stieff Rose and Corsage that had originally been made by the Stieff Company were continued to be marked with “Stieff”. Old patterns such as King and Repousse that had been made by S. Kirk & Son were now made by Stieff Company but continued to be marked with the S. Kirk & Son mark. Newly created patterns that were made after the sale of the Kirk family’s business to the Stieff Company were then marked with the “Kirk-Stieff” mark. It is often difficult to date these items because of these practices. I have thought that this cuff bracelet was most likely created in the 1960s, but I am not entirely sure of the dating period.

This lovely example of the repousse style features a floral display of a variety of flowers including the Rose and Daisy(Maryland’s state flower) on an open cuff style bracelet. The bracelet weighs approximately 35 grams (1.2 ounces) of sterling silver. It has a nice patina that makes the flowers stand out well enhancing the dimensional pattern. This bracelet was made in two different widths. This is the smaller of the two widths, yet, still significant in size. When being worn this vintage S. Kirk & Son cuff bracelet will be admired for the fine workmanship and the pretty repousse pattern. And, it would make a marvelous gift for that special someone who love this romantic style.

Condition: Very Good
This bracelet is in wonderful condition with no issues to note. It has, as noted previously in the description, a pleasing vintage patina. I do not dip vintage sterling silver jewelry in cleaning solutions as it takes away the beautiful patina that has occurred over the years. Nor, do I use pumice to clean pieces, but instead I polish with a very soft polishing cloth that only restores highlights to the silver without ruining the patina. And, just so you will know......#8 photo of the bracelet shows a coppery or bronze colored area on the bracelet. This is a reflection in the photo and is NOT an actual area that is this color. The bracelet is NOT plated, but is sterling silver and does not actually have any areas of this color on it.

Signed: S. Kirk & Son, Sterling

Measurements
1” Wide x 7 1/4” Long
35 Grams (1.2 Ounces)

This seller is a proud member of The Vintage Fashion Guild (VFG) and The Costume Society of America (CSA).

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