History of Plating

Simply put, plating (electroplating) is a technique for covering the surface of a material with a thin layer.

Today, electroplating is the mainstream method, so it may seem like a modern technique unrelated to antiques. However, its history is very old, and many antique products are plated.

Here, we will explain various types of plating with a focus on British antique silver.

Old Sheffield Plate

This is a silver-plating method named after Thomas Bowlsover, a Sheffield cutler in England, who is credited with inventing it around 1742.
It is the oldest method of British silver plating to be successfully used for commercial products.

A sheet of copper is sandwiched between two thin sheets of silver and heated. When the silver begins to melt, it is rolled through a series of rotating rollers, bonding the copper and silver together to create a silver-plated surface.

Areas where the plating has worn thin to reveal the copper underneath have a distinctive beauty.
Early Old Sheffield Plate, in particular, is popular with some antique collectors and commands a high value on the antique market.

Silver-Filled (Rolled Silver)

This method bonds a layer of silver to a base metal such as brass using heat and pressure.
The silver layer has a purity of 92.5% (sterling silver).

In both cases, the silver layer is much thicker than that of electroplated silver, so it does not easily peel off, and the base metal is rarely exposed even after polishing.

It also looks closer to solid silver than electroplated silver and is commonly used for accessories.

Electroplated (Plate)

Many items are made using a method called EPNS (electroplated nickel silver), in which silver is electroplated onto a nickel alloy known as nickel silver.
There is also a type called EPBM, which uses an alloy known as Britannia metal (pewter) as the base.

Its history is surprisingly old. In Britain, the Elkington company obtained various patents and began production around 1840.

Compared to Old Sheffield Plate and silver-filled silver, it uses less silver and can be mass-produced in factories at a low cost with uniform quality, so it spread rapidly in the late 19th century.

The thickness of the silver layer varies depending on the grade, but even heavy plating, known as thick plating, is only about 40–60 microns thick (1 micron = 0.001 millimeters).

Silver Gilt

Silver that has been plated with gold is called silver gilt (SILVER GILT).
In French, it is called vermeil.

In addition to making silver look more brilliant by adding gold decoration, silver gilt is also used to coat surfaces that come into contact with other objects, as gold is less prone to tarnishing, making the items more resistant to dirt.

Many items, such as cups and the inside of silver cases, are silver gilt.

Older items were made using a method called fire gilding, in which a liquid mixture of mercury and gold, known as amalgam, was applied to the surface and heated to evaporate the mercury.

Summary

Although all are generally referred to as "silver plating," each type has its own characteristics depending on the era and method.

Because antique silver plating uses less silver than solid silver (pure silver), it is generally considered to have lower value.

However, the base metal is hard and resistant to dents, so it requires less careful handling and is durable even in items that bear weight or move frequently.
It is also resistant to wear even after polishing, so the engravings on many old items remain clearly defined.