Repair & Polishing of
Silver Baby Cups & 
Baby Rattles 

Repair of Baby Cups

RESTORATION OF A STERLING SILVER BABY CUP WITH A LIMITED BUDGET

This sterling silver baby cup arrived very beat up, bent, and misshapen.  As a perfectionist, I would have loved to spend six to eight hours restoring this baby cup closer to its original form, but the customer had a limited budget.

Aligning my repair work to a limited budget, I focused on getting the baby cup shape back to a round-ish shape, removing the worst dents and misshapen bottom.  The bottom still isn't perfect, but I spent most of my time on the sides, which are more visible. The machine engraving on the side was carefully preserved.  

I prefer to work towards perfection, but this does not fit everyone’s budget.

STERLING SILVER BABY CUP MISSING THE HANDLE

While this looks like an ordinary sterling baby cup, the repair was a huge challenge. There was a gaping hole in the top edge where the original handle had ripped off, taking part of the cup with it.  It had also torn a hole in the side of the baby cup. Unfortunately, the customer had also lost the original handle for the baby cup.

There are no replacement parts for baby cups. My first job was to construct a new sterling silver handle similar to what I imagined was there originally, but large enough to conceal the ripped hole on the outside. Before attaching the hew handle, I rebuilt the rolled edge with sterling silver wire.  Finally, I added a circular patch on the inside to conceal the hole repair. making the cup water tight. You can't even tell that this cups was repaired.

There are no replacement parts for missing baby cup handles.

The sterling silver baby cup on the right was missing a handle. At my suggestion, the customer purchased the identical baby cup on e-bay (with a damaged enamel interior.) Because the blue enamel was damaged, the baby cup did not cost much. The baby cup (left) provided a handle that matched the original lost handle. I cut off the handle super carefully, preserving the edges. On the right, you can see the fully restored sterling silver baby cup.

Sterling silver baby cup restored

This baby cup had extensive tarnish and sharp dings, which are hard to remove. The baby cup appeared to have a satin finish with a polished edge so it was restored to its original finish.

If you are a very observant person, you might have noticed that this sterling silver baby cup is the same style as shown in another side-by-side comparison on this page. Both are 20th century baby cups, though from different customers. The options for sterling silver baby cups has steadily decreased in the 20th and 21st century. If you are looking for a sterling silver baby cup as a gift, buy an antique or vintage baby cup and have it repaired and polished. In general, the older the baby cup, the thicker the silver and more variety of designs.

Polishing of Baby Cups & Baby Rattles

Polishing sterling silver baby cups and rattles

Polishing sterling silver baby cups and baby rattles is a wonderful way to keep cherished memories for future generations. The baby cups (left photo) had a gold plating on the inside that was only hand-polished in order to preserve the gold plating. I am very careful to avoid polishing the engraving on the baby cups and baby rattles.

Baby Rattles can be polished to rejuvenate their appearance.  I have also taken out the dents in baby rattles, but this is a major repair as they were not designed for disassembly. 

Pewter Baby Cup Repair

Pewter Baby Cup Repair

This pewter baby cup arrived with the handle broken off (left photo.) The handle was reattached and the cup polished (right photo.)

Silver Plating of Baby Cups

SILVER pLATING FOR FULL RESTORATION OF SILVER PLATE

This silver plate baby cup was silver plated to restore its appearance. I do not do any plating myself but will take your silver to a local plating firm. My goal is to assure you of the best quality silver plating before its return.

Stress cracks in Baby Cups

Stress cracks in baby cups

Did a vertical crack appear in your baby cup? This may be a stress crack, a very sad situation. While I can usually fix anything…stress cracks are not possible to repair.

Stress cracks are most often found in round silver plate objects. These bowls and cups are made by spinning the cup on a lathe...and the metal gets very hard. This is called work hardening. The problem is that the cup should be annealed after it was fabricated, but that would be another step that adds time and money for the manufacturer. For speed in fabrication, the metal is left very hard, never “relieving the stress” in the metal. Your baby cup may be sitting in a cabinet for years, untouched, and may still develop stress cracks.