Is this Tiffany?

This is a Sterling Silver Baby Rattle that I purchased a few years ago. It was deeply tarnished when I purchased it so I polished it up. It's inscribed with "C Tiffany & Co. 925" with an unusual font style. It does have beads in it that rattle.

I've only seen a few of this style of Baby Rattles and those have a more traditional Tiffany & Co. mark. I'm wondering if this is a replica or a original Tiffany Baby Rattle.

It would seem that this would be an unusual item to replicate and would be a little difficult to do so. On the same note I haven't seen any inscribed Tiffany marks like this. I know some Tiffany items are made in other places for Tiffany. I'm not sure of the story with this item. Does anyone know if this is a real Tiffany Baby Rattle or a replica?

Thanks!
Kevin

 

Hi,
Sorry to say but with that horrible inscribed inscription that is is Definitely NOT the Tiffany that I know.
greg

 

Professional engravers have been asked for many years to add "fake" initials,marks,etc. to various jewelry,etc. Most refuse for many reasons ,but there are those who do,this looks like a "hack" job from Asia or a local inexperienced engraver.

 

That's not a Tiffany mark by any stretch. The rattle however may be real sterling with the phony mark added to boost the value.

 

Tiffany used many fonts. It was the vendors or suppliers who marked the pieces with the Tiffany name. You might want to message Tiffany's and see what they have to say. The company is very good with their record keeping. Tiffany items usually have a pattern number if applicable and an order number too. I know the font looks a little odd, but some of the Italian fonts used for Tiffany were just as odd as this. I wouldn't dismiss it offhand. A quick message to the company and you might have your answer. Good luck.

 

There were 162 Tiffany baby rattles recently sold on eBay. None were in the shape of a duck. There is one "live" auction on eBay now. However, that mark is totally different from yours and that mark looks suspicious.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies. leeddie, I was getting ready to *scrap it* but you're right, before doing that I should send a message to the company and see what they say. It just amazes me that anyone would replicate this duck, it doesn't seem to be that popular or there were that many made of them? I see *lots* of the more common items replicated. It just seems this duck would be more complicated to make with it being hollow on the inside and beads in it and if the mark was done at the same time that they couldn't do a better job of replicating that too if that was the intent. Just very odd.

 

The duck isn't complicated to make,it is just 2 die struck pieces with a few beads inside and soldered/laser welded together.

 

Hi,
The easiest way to tell is to take the item to a Tiffany store. Ask them to polish it. If it is real they will, if they refuse you know you have a counterfeit. Dealing with Tiffany for over 60 years has been a delight. Only once did I receive a rude answer and believe i deserved it. I had a wonderful elderly lady weight on me for years in the flagship store. When Avon cosmetics bought Tiffany, I asked the woman how it feels to be an Avon lady. I never ever heard a bad word come from this woman's lips. She laid me out in lavender. We both apologized and started to laugh.
greg

 

Greg, that's some good advice with a funny story to go with it! I was not aware that Avon cosmetics had bought Tiffany, it looks like they owned Tiffany from 1978 to 1984.

 

Hi,
Yes they did, but the employees of Tiffany's bought it back. I must say that Tiffany never ever lowered their standards even with pressure from the owners. I had a personal account with Tiffany, no charge card, a single handwritten bill every bill every month I owed a balance. I remember once saying to the clerk to put it on my bill. I was overheard by a very flashy, trashy blonde lady from Texas who started to whine about why she did not have an account. Her sales person told her very quietly that certain people were offered accounts, not just the general public. That woman had millions of dollars at her disposal and I was lucky to have a few hundred BUT I was the one with the personal account. Boy did I feel smug that day.
greg

 

I worked in a place doing hand engraving, and you would use templates and a pantograph for size, if necessary. The font could very well be just a funky font, but the variance in size, slant and alignment with the serifs (little extensions at top & bottom) going every which way, makes me think it's fake. Hope not, but there are too many oddities.

 

I just found a Tiffany duck rattle auction on the FeedBag. The shape is dead on, but the mark is very different. I'm not sure if that one is real either, but Tiffany is pretty good about getting fakes yanked.