Thanks. Diane, I had already done it by the time you posted. The pieces my mother tea dyed way back in the 60âÂÂs look greatâ¦so I will not worry unnecessarily about this one. It is also purchased, not one my grandmother made, so not a family heirloom. I did one course with tea, it was not dark enough. The rest of the piece was also a more pinkish beige, whereas the tea dyed portion was a golden beige. So I did it over again using coffee and little beet juice mixed in (I had just happened to make boiled beets the day before!). It is now slightly darker than the rest. Were it to fade a bit now, it would match quite closely. When I guessed it would be dark enough I squeezed out all the water by putting it between two towels and sitting on it. An interesting thing happened though. The side that was bottommost is lighter than the side where I actually applied the tea/coffee. It is almost an exact match. Somehow the color was more squeezed out on the bottom surface. This gives me then a lighter side and a darker side! So with potential future fading, I have options for which side to lay uppermost. Lazygardens, does the vinegar and salt need to be any particular proportion? Because the dyed section is just a portion of the whole piece, I would be painting it on, just like I applied the tea, not soaking it.

The Maltese cross is the symbol of the knights of Malta, used during the Crusades. The Iron Cross which is almost identical to the Maltese Cross became the symbol of bravery in Nazi Germany. It is now sort of a cult "biker" symbol....there must be some significance there but I don't know what it is. It isn't really a symbol of crucifixion. Linda C

That is one pretty tea set. In the past month, I have been in two friends homes and noticed that they had gorgeous silver tea sets. One friend lives in a mediterranean style house with the red tiles on the roof and the stucco walls. She has decorated with rich fabrics in saturated colors, and the tea set adds beautifully to the sumptuous nature of her home. My other friend lives in a wonderful ranch house that she has remodeled with floor to ceiling windows in the back overlooking a deep yard that she has multilple gardens in. Her home is more modern, with light wood on the floor and is flooded with sunlight. In the midst of this, is a wonderful polished silver tea set and candelabra on the sideboard of her DR. I know it sounds incongruous, but the effect is anything but. It is gorgeous! So, maybe tea sets are making a come back. Or maybe we are getting to the age in life where we are finally appreciating the finer things in life. Go for it!

Silver plated sets are unloved and underpriced. And perfectly gorgeous. I'd watch eBay in addition to what Lizbeth suggested. Plate should hold up just fine--not like you're going to put it in the dishwasher! Unless of course you wanted something new? No idea where you'd get new silver. The old stuff is too fun to consider new!