Nail buffer hallmark

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blotter1
blotter1690Ă—459 34.3 KB

blotterx
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Does anyone recognize this B hallmark?

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Is it a Nail Buffer ??? :thinking:. Any chance of a Full photo of any hallmarks and item please :wink:

Screenshot_2025-09-20-04-37-51-09_260528048de7f2f358f0056f785be619
Screenshot_2025-09-20-04-37-51-09_260528048de7f2f358f0056f785be6191080Ă—1228 103 KB

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That’s a nail buffer made by Mappin & Webb and Assayed in Birmingham in 1951 having been manufactured in the Royal Works in Sheffield.

You don’t say if the B(?) in the diamond is on this or another unrelated item. But presuming it is not a monogram but a plate maker’s mark or an inventory id mark and not on silver at all, it would be helpful if you could come up with a picture of the object itself.

The same question was asked by Robert Armstrong March 17, 2018 on another forum and he is still lacking answer. That mark, he told his audience, was on a silver-plated spoon with a scroll pattern.

In days of yore, diamond marks were reserved for widows of silversmiths who took over their husband’s workshops after he had died from inhaling mercury vapours from the gilding process then favoured to ensure a plethora of silver marks to look up in a short time period. But usually two not a single initial.

CRWW

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Is the “B” symbol the only mark on the item?

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blotter4
blotter4662Ă—214 20.8 KB
These are the other marks, and there is a minerva head in a different spot.

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You can’t win against reality… And facts.

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Oh I don’t think that is quite fair. I have had the privilege of knowing some quite thoughtful women too.

And it’s not suede it’s chamois or sometimes on the cheaper ones calf skin.

Ink blotters are typically designed with a flat surface for rather obvious reasons. This is not such a surface.

Here’s another:

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/4304763190/vintage-silver-metal-nail-buffer-with?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=leather+buffer&ref=sr_gallery-1-8&sts=1&loc=1&local_signal_search=1&content_source=c7fbaba1-fa70-4da8-b545-e25012308a00%253Aa8d13a0e85986f42b09f87d40828fd81dd132986&organic_search_click=1&logging_key=c7fbaba1-fa70-4da8-b545-e25012308a00%3Aa8d13a0e85986f42b09f87d40828fd81dd132986

And here’s a blotter:

CRWW

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Ah, so Dutch marks. A lion with a “2” indicates second standard .833 silver. The T is a date letter and the B is a town mark. It all comes down to Utrecht in 1929.

https://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32028

Now we just need a maker’s mark and the puzzle is completed. Except for what it is.

CRWW

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vs

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Actually, I think you’re right. Mea culpa, guys!

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Only he who does nothing makes no mistakes. Errare humanum est. :+1: