Topic: Caithness "Sea Pearls" paperweight... Information wanted

[Glass-Hunter]

I am new to collecting paperweights and pick what I find interesting. I found this one at a flea market recently and grabbed it for $15 and really like it. I did a GOOGLE search and found some info on it but what I really want to do is to ID the SERIAL number "U5082" What does it mean? Is 82 the year it was made? Also there are a few different color patterns of "Sea Pearls" is the one I have called HEATHER? I dont know. Thanks for any help on this. Mike

[orangeglass]

Apparently there was a range "Sea Pearl" made by Caithness in 1979 designed and made by Peter Holmes, a limited edition of 500. Has a PH cane but some also made with a CG cane.
 Unfortunately, having found a picture  - yours doesn't look like this range - so is sea pearlS a different range at a later date?
Probably 1990's - do come in other colours though I don't know how many - They all seem to have a different number after the U so were they made in volume?

Sorry  this doesn't seem to be of any help!

Roberta

[Wuff]

.... but what I really want to do is to ID the SERIAL number "U5082" What does it mean?

We have to differentiate two different numbering systems - the design code and the production number (the latter for unlimited weights only).

1) Design code: "Sea Pearls" comes in three colours:
- U98082 Gold
- U98083 Heather
- U98084 Kingfisher
U stands for "unlimited", 98 for the year of first issue, 082...084 is the design number in this year (1998). This design code shows up in catalogues, on boxes and the like - but is not marked on the paperweight itself.

2) Production number: the following is valid for unlimited designs only! It starts with a letter (indicating the year of production) and is followed by up to 6 digits - the latter being the running number of all(!) unlimited weights this particular year.

Now - "U" (for a year) should in theory not exist - several letters were omitted to avoid confusion (like letter I and number 1). Officially R indicates 1997 / S omitted / T = 1998 / U omitted / V = 1999.
It is known, however, that by mistake S was used for a short while for 1998 - before T was adopted. Your number (5082) is fairly early in the year (total number appr. 50'000) - so it would be plausible the same happened again - and your weight should have been marked V for production in 1999.

[orangeglass]

It was designed by Alastair MacIntosh.
 All these weights I have seen start with a U - surely this can't be a mistake? Most of the other weight designs in the catalogue start with a U for 1998
They appeared in both the 1998 and 1999 catalogue - anyone seen one with a different letter?

[Glass-Hunter]

Thank you for the replies. That's more information than I was able to come up with. Hey orangeglass... How were you able to determine mine was made by Alastair MacIntosh? If anyone else has anything to add please feel free. Mike

[orangeglass]

Designed by him!!
look on scotlandsglass.co.uk
It's a wealth of information!

[Glass-Hunter]

Thank you for the tip. You are right about the amount of information on there. I was able to find my particular paperweight. I wish there was some sort of serial number database on there to identify an individual item. But I can learn a heck of a lot from that site. Thanks again.

Designed by him!!
look on scotlandsglass.co.uk
It's a wealth of information!

[SophieB]

Yes, the Scotlandsglass website is great and it is mainly due to the tireless efforts of Frank Andrews and Wolf Seelentag (or Wuff as he is known on this board). Without their hard work, Scotlandsglass would not be the fantastic resource that it is today.

SophieB

[chriscooper]

You may find this 'quick' link to Caithness weights  useful ? I do 

http://www.scotlandsglass.co.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=6&Itemid=6

[Wuff]

All these weights I have seen start with a U - surely this can't be a mistake? Most of the other weight designs in the catalogue start with a U for 1998
They appeared in both the 1998 and 1999 catalogue - anyone seen one with a different letter?

No - they do not start (in the catalogue) with an U for 1998 - they start with an U for unlimited ... this is what I call the design code, and has nothing to do with the (what I call it) production number, where U (should be a V) indicates production in 1998.

The only other letter you'll find in the catalogues is L - for limited weights.

Only much more recently other combinations of letters indicating additionally certain events have been used - like OPU and OPL for unlimited and limited weights issued for the London Olympics in 2012.