A set of 6 handmade hall marked sterling silver cocktail sticks. Solid hall marked sterling silver rod handles each set with a functional stainless steel pin. When not in use they fit neatly into a stand made from turned polished maple wood.

The handle has a double line motif which is the signature design theme of the JA Campbell, contemporary, Appetite collection. Handmade in our Brentwood workshop.  'To delight a customer' is something Designer John Campbell aims to do with every item that leaves his workshop.

For those interested in how we make these essential cocktail sticks a brief description: Basically they contain 4 components (5 if you include the skills involved) a silver finial, a stainless steel pin, a maple wood stand and the cork base covering material.

The silver finial: this is made by taking a sterling silver rod supplied to us by Cookson Precious Metal and manufactured the continuous casting method. This is made in the continuous casting machine which melts and mixes the 2 ingredients of sterling silver which are 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% pure copper. It pulls out, from the exit hole in the crucible, the solidifying and cooling rod at a carefully controlled rate. Upon exiting the caster the rod is cut into manageable lengths and drawn down through reducing dies until it reaches the final finished diameter. At this stage it is sent to JA Campbell. It is held in a lathe and a pair of decorative lines is turned into the surface and it is cut to cocktail stick finial length. It is then tuned end on and drilled to accept the now prepared stainless steel pins.

At this stage in the making the items are sent to the London Assay Office for testing of each and every component. Only if all the components prove to be better than 92.5% are the hallmarks punched into the surface while being supported on a steel stake. The independent English hallmarking system is one of the oldest and best forms of consumer protection and dates back to the 1400s.

On return from the hallmarking process the silversmith cuts tiny 1mm long pieces of silver solder and drops one down the finial hole, and adds some flux. The assembly is then up ended i.e. finial on top and gently heated with a gas and oxygen torch until red hot, at this point the solder inside melts and joins the finial to the pin. Next the assembly is pickled in dilute sulphuric acid to remove flux and oxide residues and a sharp point is ground onto the opposite end.

Last but not least is the polishing process. Using 4 different grades of compound, starting coarse and becoming finer, all the making scratches and blemishes are removed and the final luster achieved. The cocktail stick is ultrasonically cleaned and dried.

The wooden base: This is circle cut from a maple wood board, a hole is drilled in the centre and it is screwed onto the lathe and tuned by hand to its final shape. It is then polished on a polishing lathe, using 2 grades of compound and drilled with 6 holes to store the sticks.

A cork disc is glued to the base to prevent damage to furniture; the set of 6 sticks fitted in place and packed into presentation boxes.

The perfect way to take the weight of an olive, and rest it across the top of a martini glass as in this picture. If an olive is not your choice then a cherry or a slice of lemon would work just as well.

Some interesting facts about cocktails! Chat with your friends while enjoying one!

James Bond is renowned for preferring his martini shaken not stirred and there is a good reason for this. Shaking chills the drink more quickly so the ice melts less resulting in a cooler, less diluted drink.

One of the first modern cocktails to be named and recognized is the martini. It can be traced back to an 1862 recipe for the Martinez. This American recipe consisted of four parts sweet red vermouth to one part gin, garnished with a cherry.

A set of 6 sterling silver cocktail sticks would make an ideal silver present for any occasion and comes in satin lined presentation box in the white and lilac colours of JA Campbell.

You can be assured that all JA Campbell products are made up to a standard not down to a price.