Old Newbury Crafters has been producing fine handwrought sterling silver since 1915.
It's a rare quality in a product today to be completely handmade. It means that much care and precision are put into the process.
At Old Newbury Crafters, we produce a completely handmade, truly superior flatware. Unlike the many machine made types of flatware available in the market, we follow an art and tradition that has been passed through generations of American Silversmiths.
Our handwrought sterling silver is crafted to perfection in strength and balance by each Master. It represents a lasting treasure whose beauty endures, whose value improves through time and whose possession brings great pleasure and importance to its owner.
The Old Newbury process begins with a single bar of sterling silver. Shaping starts at the anvil. There is no stamping or cutting out of the metal - the piece is forged with a five pound hammer on the polished surface of the anvil. The powerful blows of the Silversmith move the silver into the shape of the pattern.
As it is forged the silver hardens and must be heated by the Master Silversmith to soften. It is fired to a flowing red and plunged into cold water. The forging continues, creating a strength and hardness far greater than the original bar of raw sterling. From the neck the piece tapers toward the end producing perfect balance. Strength and balance are major components of Old Newbury Crafters flatware.
The hammering doesn't end when the piece is completely forged to shape, it is rehammered with a lighter planishing hammer to smooth out the heavy forging marks, leaving a subtle hammered texture so prized in handwrought silver. In bending the neck or shaft to just the right curve the Silversmith shapes it against a hard maple wood block that serves as a base without marring it.
Special shapes are achieved through the use of hand tools. For example, the spoon bowl is rounded out by raising an iron weighted form in its trap by a rope, to just the right height and releasing it. The weighted form strikes a sharp blow against the spoon end and shapes the bowl.
The Silversmith then makes his mark on the flatware, placing his personal hallmark on the back of the handle. Another stamp is placed indicating the flatware is Old Newbury Crafters Handwrought Sterling.
