Metallic Fantastic!

You know when you keep reading things about an area, and it looks like a 'head of steam' is rapidly building up? I think exactly this is happening with British metalware of the 1950s-70s. Interest in, and prices being paid for, exotic silver and gold pieces by the likes of Stuart Devlin and Gerald Benney have risen steeply over the past year. If you read magazines or newspapers like the Antiques Trade Gazette every week, as I do, then you can hardly fail to notice. And it's not just die-hard collectors either, interior decorators and investors looking for appealing and intrinsically valuable pieces that are typical of the period have also become hooked.
If, like mine, your pockets aren't deep enough to run to a precious metal piece, I'd keep a close eye on stainless steel designs of the same period. Many were designed by the very same designers as the higher end pieces. For example, take this 'Campden' coffee set designed in 1957 by Robert Welch for market leader Old Hall. Arguably a design classic, its clean-lined form shows one of the most important influences of the period - Scandinavian Modernism. It's also incredibly practical, as the wooden handles allow you to pour without getting burnt. And the spouts don't drip or dribble either! Usually selling for around £60-70, I've seen examples go for much less.