Sterling Flatware Questions

[midnite_picker]

A couple of weeks ago I purchased and flipped a set of "Wallace Rose Point" silverware on the bay for a handsome profit. A few days had gone by when the buyer contacted me questioning the authenticity of the set. He claimed that when comparing the silverware he bought from me to his existing set, that the weights were different and the "Wallace" hallmark wasn't as sharp/detailed on the pieces he bought from me. The buyer has a high feedback rating and when we spoke on the phone he seemed genuine (his eBay history also shows that he buys a substantial amount of sterling silverware). He was going to have one of the pieces he bought from me tested and get back to me (one week ago), but I have heard nothing since. I am sure the silverware I sold him is authentic (BTW... I collect and hoard rounds, bars and 90%). I'm obviously no expert on sterling, but if the opportunity arises I have no problem flipping it for a profit so I can purchase more ASE's. I did a lot of research on the set I sold and I am 100% convinced it is authentic. I remember while polishing the pieces how easy it was to bend/align the tines on the forks (can't do that with plated). Also, the knife blades were stamped "stainless blade--sterling handle". Now I have a chance to purchase a sixty piece set of "Wallace Grand Baroque" silverware at well under spot (ozT X 92.5% X 55% ---on the forks and spoons). I weighed every single piece and was surprised at the weight differences in identical pieces. I am a little gun-shy about purchasing this set, but there is a very nice profit potential. My questions for you experts are---(1) Is it common to have weight differences ( for example, up to .25 ozT per dinner fork)? and (2) Have you ever heard of counterfeit "Wallace" sterling silverware? Thanks in advance. PS--I appreciate and enjoy reading all the informative posts on this forum. Thanks again, Scott

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

I am a big fan of Wallace. I collect one of their offshoots, Westmoreland (now out of business). YES. Wallace and Westmoreland do have a lot of variation in the weights of their same sets. I was surprised by this. You cannot weigh one single fork or spoon and assign that weight to every fork or spoon of the same size and pattern. You must weigh every one individually to get the accurate weight of the entire set. This goes double for production runs of different years.

As to counterfeit hallmarks and counterfeit sterling sets... I don't know anything about that.