Ricci Botticelli Satin 5 Pc. Place Setting

The Ricci silverware was a splurge for me. Who needs stainless that costs this much? Well if you're going to use it every day for decades and want it to look beautiful and last, this is worth every dime. Ricci puts as much attention to detail into their stainless as they do their sterling line.

Some of the best points of Ricci silverware are:

* the design is on the back as well as the front of the handles.

* very heavy, but not too heavy

* the butter knives have a nicely honed cutting edge

* these peices aren't stamped from flat pieces of steel; they are forged and hand-finished

* they are not full continental size; they're between U.S. "luncheon" size flatware and full continental. E.g. the knife is just over 9 inches long (in full continental, knives can be as long as 10.5 inches). The Ricci lengths are long enough to feel solid and look elegant, but not so long that they're unweildy.

My old set was from Oneida, one of their "top of the line" sets, and the Ricci puts it to shame. There is no comparison. When it comes to silverware, you do get what you pay for.