Another Wilkinson US M1902 Saber for all officers

[T. Graham]

About 1950, Wilkinson produced 1902 sabers for the importer/distributor Gemsco. See the links below This example has a completely different Wilkinson etching pattern compared to the 1950 pattern. I am convinced by the subtle details, that this 02 was made in Spain. It is not marked for country of origin, so not made for export to the US, but for Foreign private purchase. Did Wilkinson import it to the UK, serial number it (see last photo), and retail it there? There are two Spanish makers, Bermeho (uses the Horster style etching) and Marto (Eickhorn type etching) that make 02s both in Toledo. So, who made this one? I will date it after 1975. Can the Wilkinson authorities add anything here?
I almost forgot the serial number 121816 hand stamped on the blade back. See the last picture.

http://www.swordforum.com/forums/sho...ghlight=gemsco

http://www.swordforum.com/forums/sho...ighlight=gemsc

[Guy C]

I am not sure that I have ever heard of a Wilkinson Sword sword being made anywhere but the UK. Perhaps Robert will chime in on this one. However I do note that the ricasso etching looks identical to a Chinese made General Officers knock-off that I have. The spine number also looks very home made. If it is a Wilkinson then the company went very downhill towards the end.

[Robert Wilkinson-Latham]

The number corresponds to the year 1990 so can be researched

[T. Graham]

I have seen the Chinese M1902s and this one is of far better quality and would hold it's own against a WKC. The etching does resemble the so called general officers sword, but is there a market for a fake Wilkinson M1902?

Thanks for the responses.

[Guy C]

I'm glad to hear that the quality is good but i still have concerns over the stamped serial number. I am attaching three examples I have and all seem better aligned. The last is from an RAF sword dated 1969 and is not aligned quite as well as the others. Perhaps this was just a stylistic thing with later production. I was really hoping that Robert could say if Wilkinson Sword ever contracted out production to foreign makers or not.

[T. Graham]

A possible reason for the poorly aligned letters is because this 02 blade back is not flat, but curved. However there should be a fixture to align the numbers together.

[Robert Wilkinson-Latham]

Wilkinson Sword only made Swords at their factory in the UK.
They did not contract out or buy in swords from anyone else or any other country.

Wilkinsons did make US swords mainly for Russell; Uniform Co, Broadway New York wgi were their main agents.
They also made Southamerican patterns also for Russell and produced a catalogue for Rusell of US and South American sword patterns

They did aupply other US Military tailors.

[Guy C]

So it's either a genuine UK made Wilkinson Sword or a fake. I suppose the next step would be to research the serial no with: http://www.armsresearch.co.uk/index.html If this comes back as an M1902 then fairly certain to be genuine. Anything else and it's an attempt at fakery. Given the stated quality of the sword I would think the ledgers will confirm it as a Wilkinson.