On the outside of the box, on the bottom, is an old stick-on label, likely mid-1900's that reads, "Desk set made for King Ludwig of Bavaria belonged to my grandmother Austin", signed "Mother". The condition of the set is very good.
The knife and seal display beautifully and are entirely functional. There is some tarnish and oxidation to the gold which we have left in order to preserve its authentic, antique patina. The letter opener has a nice, sharp cutting edge and all of the applied gold work and engravings are flawless. One pearl is missing from its setting on the desk seal, which you might decide to have replaced, but the other 35 pearls are intact on the seal and all are present on the handle of the letter opener. Also on the seal, there are two natural veins in the lapis stone which are visible on the outside, but these are original to the piece and are not pitted nor split. We see no damages and no repairs on either the seal or the letter opener. The box is worn both inside and out, and the leather cover is cracked and shedding. The latch still locks but is not perfectly aligned. You will notice an indentation on the inside velvet where a matching ink pen was part of this set. Length of letter opener: 6 1/8 inches Length of desk seal: 2 3/4 inches Box dimensions: About 7 1/16 inches long by 3 3/4 inches wide by 1 1/2 inches high Weight of letter opener: 45 grams Weight of desk seal: 36.4 grams tm.Powered by SixBit's eCommerce Solution. The item "King Ludwig of Bavaria 14k Gold Lapis Desk Set Seal and Letter Opener Orig. Box" is in sale since Friday, January 8, 2021. This item is in the category "Antiques\Decorative Arts\Metalware".
The seller is "essexjewelryandantiques" and is located in Essex, Massachusetts. This item can be shipped worldwide. Merk