Featured Polish or Not

Hi all,
835 sterling letter opener - should I polish the blades on the windmill or leave them dark? I'm just starting to polish this, I like them dark but I'm lazy with polishing silver
any thoughts appreciated
thanks for looking

 

I would just hit it lightly with a silver polishing cloth.
I like the dark patina!

 

thanks stracci great idea for using the cloth, I always forget about having one. Will use that on the figural/decorative part

 

It's a really beautiful piece! I would open mail with it every day!

 

Nice @cxgirl.

 

it is cool, the blades spin around lol, things like this amuse me

thanks pearls

 

Sunshine cloth would probably do nicely!!! I love silver shiny, but also love the dark contrasting parts!!! BUT HUGELY HATE to POLISH the stuff!!!!
That's a really NICE letter opener @cxgirl !!!​

 

That windmill blows me away.

 

I with the gang....hit the high points with the cloth, but let the recessed areas stay darkened....
it'll glow !!!

 

I have a few windmill tea/coffeespoons, I'm sure you'll love those. It fascinates me too. Simple pleasures, right?

The style is very Dutch with all those Baroqueish scrolls, but if it has an 835 number mark, it was likely made in Germany to be sold as a Dutch souvenir.
If it were Dutch silver, it would have been marked with a tiny sword mark.

Just so you don't get in trouble when you sell it, 835 silver isn't sterling.

 

Ditto in the polish cloth.

 

Pun intended!

 

thanks for all the replies folks

thanks AJ, a mistake on my part, I meant to put silver

1972 Zaanland Silversmiths n.v.b.v. Haarlem Amsterdam

 

Wonderful! Slight typo though, 1872?
I have an Amsterdamse School brooch by the Zaanlandse Zilversmederij.

 

thanks AJ I'm pretty sure it is 1972. I believe the Lion mark on my piece is the one shown below, started in 1953

 

Seems I am richer than I thought, I also have a rare Amsterdamse School pendant by them:

 

So it is, my mistake. I was looking at the Minerva mark, and thought it was the older one, but it is the second one.
In my defense, my husband keeps walking in asking things I can't help with anyway. And doing too many things simultaneously. Off for a rest.