Engraved Rose - Vintage Signed 'Kirk Steiff' Pewter Heart Pendant & Sterling Silver Chain (VP193)

Engraved Rose - Vintage Signed 'Kirk Steiff' Pewter Heart Pendant & Sterling Silver Chain. This lovely pendant is crafted from pewter, hallmarked Rose, KIRK STEIFF PEWTER 901-6.  The chain is crafted from sterling silver, hallmarked 925, ITALY. This hand-crafted pendant is made in the form of a heart, which showcases and exquisite engraved rose. The pendant has been matched up with a diamond cut chain, which ties-in with the engraved flower. The chain features a secure spring ring in perfect working order. This vintage pendant and chain would make a wonderful gift for that special someone or wonderful addition to any vintage jewelry collection.

History: Pewter was first used around the beginning of the Bronze Age in the Near East. The earliest known piece of pewter was found in an Egyptian tomb, c. 1450 BC, but it is unlikely that this was the first use of the material.

The story of silver mining began about 5,000 years ago. Silver was first mined around 3,000 BCE in Anatolia, now located in modern-day Turkey. The precious metal helped early civilizations in the Near East, Ancient Greece to flourish. 

The term is sterling is derived from the fact that, about 775, silver coins known as “sterlings” were issued in the Saxon kingdoms, 240 of them being minted from a pound of silver, the weight of which was probably about equal to the later troy pound.

The Kirk-Stieff Company was the oldest silversmith firm in the country when the factory closed its doors in 1999, marking the end of a tradition that had flourished in Baltimore since the early nineteenth century. Entrepreneur Charles Clinton Stieff founded the company in 1892 at 110 W. Fayette Street.

Sterling Silver holloware was made at Stieff until 1999, but pewter became the star of the company in the 1970s and 1980s. Stieff was the official maker of pewter and sterling for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, Old Sturbridge Village and Old Newport.

Measurements: Pendant: 30.00 mm x 16.50 mm        Chain: 20" 

Weight: 7.40 grams 

Condition: Excellent 

Origin: Pendant : America, Baltimore, Maryland         Chain: Italy 

Date: Circa 1970