Antique Edwardian Charles Horner Silver Thistle & Amethyst Cufflinks

Enamel and silver thistle disc on one side. Joined with a chain to a lozenge shaped amethyst.

Hallmarked in sterling silver for Charles Horner Chester. The date mark is hard to read but thought to be B for 1902.

Sizes. Round thistle disc approx 12mm - Lozenge approx. 18mm long

In good used antique condition with some minor rubbing from use to the enamel on one edge.

Charles Horner's business was founded in the 1860s and was based at 23 Northgate, Halifax. It produced silver jewellery and ornaments. Among its better-known jewellery lines were enamelled Art Nouveau pendants and necklaces, twisted silver wire and glass paste 'knot' brooches, and silver hatpins.

Nineteenth century silver thimble by Horner

Horner's "Dorcas" thimbles were patented in 1884. These solved the problem of the previous soft, silver thimbles by using a sandwich of strong steel and sterling silver layers. The three layers were formed separately, stacked together, and then a protruding lip of the inner silver liner was burnished over the steel, locking into place in a groove around the outer silver decorative layer.

After his death in 1896, his two sons, James Dobson Horner and Charles Henry Horner, continued the business, in partnership with Charles William Leach.[note 1] They expanded in 1905 with the opening of a new factory at Mile Cross, Halifax. The Charles Horner factory produced a range of products during the 20th century, together with other items like silverware, tableware and clocks.