Greetings I have inherited a cruet set with minor chipping that has a spoon that is stamped with sterling and Catamore but the set has no markings it is old with square cut bottles and an ornate carrying platform pictures I have are not accepted by the site.
Founded circa 1942 by Christopher and Phyllis Catanzaro in East Providence, Rhode Island, Catamore Jewelry Company, Inc., produced mainly gold and costume jewelry until 1981. Their trademark was “CATAMORE”. In1954 the company was charged with making false statements to secure gold bullion which was then severely restricted in both the UK and the USA. The defendants, Catamore Jewelry Company, Robert J. O’Toole and Edmund M. Squire, moved to dismiss the indictment. The court found against them and there is no record of a trial so the matter was settled.
While the spoon is marked .925 silver, with no marking on the cruet or the lids of the glass, it is most likely either electroplate or possibly .800 silver if it was brought in from Germany where much of their glass was made. Ironically during WWII base metal for plating was difficult to find in the US and much that jewelers might have made from EPNS or nickel silver was manufactured from sterling. So this dates or tends to date the spoon to the US WWII period; 1942 to 1945. The cruet is prewar in style – Art Deco – and so will likely have been shipped to the US prior to December 1941 and resold to the newly-formed company for resale likely on Catamore Blvd in East Providence.
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