This handmade hallmarked sterling silver sugar basin is part of a matching tea and coffee set from the 'Appetite' collection of J A Campbell silversmiths. An English tea set handmade in our Brentwood workshop by Master Silversmith John Campbell, son Colin and his team of craftsmen. The silver sugar basin is also ideal for use when a dessert needs that little sprinkle of sugar to finish it off.

For those interested in how we make this sugar bowl a brief description follows. It contains basically 3 components, a body, a base and a handle (in 2 parts) The first 2 of these items are constructed using the 'spinning' method. This is a process of forming hollow objects from sheet metal and is an old process which is still used today for small to medium size production runs. It is also good for one off or prototypes. Other industries also use this method. You will often find lampshades and cooking utensils made this way. This technique takes place on a metal spinning lathe, rather like a heavy duty wood turning lathe, and involves making a former or 'chuck' as it is known and 'wrapping' a disc of metal (in this case silver) around it using a highly polished steel burnisher held in a long wooden handle and lots of lubricant. The spinner tucks the handle under his arm and uses his body weight to move the disc. As you can imagine the disc tries to buckle and fold as it comes off the flat plane to form a vessel and it is the skill of the silversmith to prevent this happening. He traps the edge of the disc between the spinning tool and a piece of wood known as a 'back stick'. Once the blank is fully on the chuck it is trimmed to size. After the 2 body components have been 'spun' they are soldered together using easy silver solder flux and a gas and air blow torch. After cooling it is 'pickled' in dilute sulphuric acid to remove flux and oxide residues. The natural gas passing through torches go through a gas fluxing unit which blows flux onto the article and protects it from 'fire stain' caused when the copper in the standard silver alloy is allowed to oxidize.

At this stage the article is taken to the London Assay Office to be scraped and tested. Once a positive result has been received from the laboratory confirming that the article has been made with metal at least 92.5% pure silver the hallmarks are punched into the surface. This independent hallmarking process began in the 1400's and is one of the world's oldest and most secure forms of consumer protection.

Upon arrival back at our workshop, the hallmarks are inspected and 'set', that is to remove the dents put in by the punching process. Following this the JA Campbell name punch is applied to the base and the polishing process begins. First using coarse compound on the inside and outside, moving up to medium and lastly a fine compound until the high polish associated with silver is achieved. 4 grades are used and around 20 different operations employed.

The sugar basin is finally ultrasonically cleaned and dried before being carefully packed into fitted presentation boxes.

Drinking tea, afternoon tea, traditional English occasions which you can turn into a celebration by using English sterling silver.

If you take your tea seriously this silver sugar basin is essential. Add a silver teapot, a silver milk jug, a silver cake stand for the freshly made scones, a silver preserve bowl for the homemade strawberry jam and a sterling silver butter dish. Use the large silver salver from the J A Campbell 'Appetite' collection and your afternoon tea table will nearly be complete.

Also part of the same collection are a silver tea caddy and caddy spoon and to serve the tea, a tea strainer. All you need now are your guests!

An English handmade silver tea set will delight you and be a wonderful traditional set to pass from generation to generation. Queen Victoria is said to have preferred her tea from a silver pot, so the tradition is a royal one!

The design features and quality in every item made by craftsmen at JA Campbell are unique.

In the unlikely event of damage JA Campbell provide a repair service.

You can be assured that all JA Campbell products are made up to a standard not down to a price. Nothing leaves the Brentwood workshop until John and Colin Campbell are completely satisfied.