OK--you got me. That is lovely.

This read as though there were more picks. Will we see more in other posts?

This flatware pattern is very similar to Crate and Barrel's "Michigan" pattern - totally devoid of superficial detail, hefty, highly polished and perhaps even more elegant. Yes, even more elegantly spare. Crate and Barrel is discontinuing the Michigan pattern; it is currently on sale online for $39.95 per five-piece setting, rather than the regular $49.95.

My fave is the silverplated nickel hotel set they sell at Dean & Deluca, which looks a lot like the one by Sambonet...is it??

Very clean and classy, I love it!

My flatware is from the local restaurant supply store, I got 24 place settings for $16.

I had been planning to get a set of the C & B "Gourmet" for my ski condo, but saw a very similar pattern on Target's online site and got that instead. The Target stuff turned out to be the same size as the "Gourmet", same heft, extremely similar design, better made (18/10 instead of 18/8), and it came with a nice, heavy two-tier wooden box, service for 12 (including steak knives), all for around $200. I never would have thought to look at Target for something like that; very glad I did.

I prefer shopping for kitchenware than shoes so you got me at "furnish their new house almost from scratch".

I bought Gourmet brand stainless flatware in a number of patterns, for myself as well as gifts -- some from Target, others were finds at TJ Maxx and Marshall's. The heft and styling is nice; price exceptional.

Twice, I lost a piece. Twice, I contacted Gourmet in Canada about buying replacements. Twice, they sent new pieces (even extras-!) at no charge. Their customer service is a dream.

Too mid-scale hotel.

I recently bought the Melody pattern from Target, which looks very similar and is nice and hefty and shiny. And probably a lot cheaper! The Crate and Barrel catalog is good for inspiration to go look for similar but cheaper stuff elsewhere.

agree with Alan. perfectly fine but middle-of-the-road.

Pretty! My husband and I bought a similar set (via ebay) in sterling. Expensive, yes, but we justified it because it's something you use 3 times a day and it lasts forever (we also have silver that we inherited). I'm a big advocate for sterling everyday--if you use it every day, it rarely needs polishing (I usually do ours maybe once or twice a year before parties).

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sterling-Silver-Reed-Barton-48-Pc-Set-Pointed-Antique_W0QQitemZ130124095408QQihZ003QQcategoryZ20109QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

So very plain in my eyes.

I prefer things that are unique.

I prefer old sets of plated silver (or, sterling, but I can't afford that). Once I looked at the glow of the silver next to the grey stainless steel I couldn't go back.

I really like this set, and I like the classic look of it. My petpeev is that the large fork has to have very long and narrow teeth, I hate wide and short teeth forks... :-) This is like the set I grew up eating from, so I like it. The one downside that new sets have, is that they do not have ALL the accoutrements that older sets do. I bought a silver set from an antique dealer (fairly simple) but it has everything under the sun in 12. It even has long spoons for ice tea, and tiny tiny forks that are perfect for hors d'oeuvres...

I have my grandmother's set of sterling flatware and used it exclusively for years (even in college). It was nice, but stainless is so much easier to contend with for daily use. I certainly don't miss polishing a jillion different pieces.

18/8? it won't last. i prefer 25/10, 18/10 is the minimum.