Anonymous wrote:Does anyone purchase sterling flatware anymore? Or do people just inherit it down the family line?
My mother had a sterling set that was probably a wedding gift (1960) and I don't think we ever used it. My father sold the set after Mom passed. It was probably in immaculate condition.

My mom's been trying to give me assorted silver sets for years, and I keep avoiding it. There are at least two full sets, and dozens of serving pieces and mismatched pieces. I want nothing to do with it after a childhood where I was forced to polish it before every party.

That said, we do use cloth napkins at every meal, so I hope my grandmother isn't rolling too much in her grave.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, of course we use it everyday, we don't use flatware. It's all silver.

I have our kitchen staff ensure it's polished weekly.

Joke aside, you have a point that real silver is high maintenance and must be hand washed and polished.

It is not high maintenance if you know what to do. I put mine in the dishwasher and use plain detergent. You just have to make sure it doesn’t touch non silver items. That makes it tarnish. And handling it often helps too.

No, it's not a question of tarnish. Silver will tarnish no matter what you do. The dishwasher prohibition for silver was because it's a soft metal, and rattling around next to harder metals in the silverware basket dinged it up.

Now that most dishwashers have the flat upper rack where each utensil is in its own little cradle, it's not an issue anymore.

I grew up eating off of silver daily, even for breakfast, but we did have a live in maid. My mom put it in the dishwasher on the day the maid was on vacation. It just can’t touch and it will be fine. Now I just use stainless steel flatware and put it in the dishwasher. I’m guessing I’ll just use the silver for special occasions if/when I inherit it.

We’ve been married over 20 years and I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve used our silver.

I use my grandmother and great-grandmother’s silver daily. Hand wash, polish as needed. We keep the stainless for picnics, kid lunchboxes, etc.

Anonymous wrote:I had a sterling set that I was supposed to have inherited but a cousin stole it before my grandma's passing. I have long since let it go, but my mom did not. I was the only grandchild who would have appreciated and used it.

I'm sorry that happened -- would make me very sad. I have my mom's silver, mother-in-law's, and great aunt's. All will go to our children. I have loved using it over the years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, of course we use it everyday, we don't use flatware. It's all silver.

I have our kitchen staff ensure it's polished weekly.

Joke aside, you have a point that real silver is high maintenance and must be hand washed and polished.

It is not high maintenance if you know what to do. I put mine in the dishwasher and use plain detergent. You just have to make sure it doesn’t touch non silver items. That makes it tarnish. And handling it often helps too.

Washing in the dishwasher often gives silver a "flat" look without the sheen, and it can remove the darkened/shaded intricate details.

I had a sterling set that I was supposed to have inherited but a cousin stole it before my grandma's passing. I have long since let it go, but my mom did not. I was the only grandchild who would have appreciated and used it.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone purchase sterling flatware anymore? Or do people just inherit it down the family line?
My mother had a sterling set that was probably a wedding gift (1960) and I don't think we ever used it. My father sold the set after Mom passed. It was probably in immaculate condition.

I inherited mine. The pattern is a little old fashioned but I decided I didn’t care and we use it everyday

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, of course we use it everyday, we don't use flatware. It's all silver.

I have our kitchen staff ensure it's polished weekly.

Joke aside, you have a point that real silver is high maintenance and must be hand washed and polished.

It is not high maintenance if you know what to do. I put mine in the dishwasher and use plain detergent. You just have to make sure it doesn’t touch non silver items. That makes it tarnish. And handling it often helps too.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, of course we use it everyday, we don't use flatware. It's all silver.

I have our kitchen staff ensure it's polished weekly.

Joke aside, you have a point that real silver is high maintenance and must be hand washed and polished.

Does anyone purchase sterling flatware anymore? Or do people just inherit it down the family line?
My mother had a sterling set that was probably a wedding gift (1960) and I don't think we ever used it. My father sold the set after Mom passed. It was probably in immaculate condition.

Yes, of course we use it everyday, we don't use flatware. It's all silver.

I have our kitchen staff ensure it's polished weekly.

Are the holy days upon us ?

Why