I recently looked at the site of Nicolas Morigi "The Regalia Specialist" and saw he no longer sells his own made fake versions of 57ers, but just sells the Chinese type fakes that everyone else has!!
A couple of years ago, I made a thread on the Morigi made 57 RK, so now I thought I would make one on his version of the 57 EK1!!
It might prevent someone buying a fake!!!
He started making these quite a long time ago, so the early ones have tarnished, and look old...
They are made in 3 pieces, with a magnetic core painted before assembly. The core itself looks to be die struck, using an old S&L die, details compare well with a normal S&L, maybe a little more worn?
The frame though is completely different to S&L's, or indeed to any 57 maker, but you have to look very closely to see the small differences....
The easiest thing to spot is the raised base on which the beading sits is rounded in the corners, unique to Morigi, and quite unlike the sharp angles on S&L etc.
I have indicated this with the yellow circle on the 4th photo!!!
You can see the frame edges are less than perfect, though some S&L's of this period aren't great either!!!
The reverse is much easier to identify, as he has used a pin which is similar to a TR Deschler style, with a distinct double tool mark near the top.
The hingeblock is solid, though slightly larger than an S&L, the catch is a thin flatwire one.
These crosses are out there, and do turn up from time to time, but never seemed as popular as his fake RK's which are still fooling people today!!
There is no real chance of anyone being fooled by the Chinese made rubbish he sells today, but these earlier EK's aren't that easy to spot!!!!
You never know...in 50 years time Morigi's may be collectable in their own right
So next time you see a 57 EK1, that appears different to any known maker....just be careful you don't get "Morigi'd"!!!!!
-Nigel
A couple of years ago, I made a thread on the Morigi made 57 RK, so now I thought I would make one on his version of the 57 EK1!!
It might prevent someone buying a fake!!!
He started making these quite a long time ago, so the early ones have tarnished, and look old...
They are made in 3 pieces, with a magnetic core painted before assembly. The core itself looks to be die struck, using an old S&L die, details compare well with a normal S&L, maybe a little more worn?
The frame though is completely different to S&L's, or indeed to any 57 maker, but you have to look very closely to see the small differences....
The easiest thing to spot is the raised base on which the beading sits is rounded in the corners, unique to Morigi, and quite unlike the sharp angles on S&L etc.
I have indicated this with the yellow circle on the 4th photo!!!
You can see the frame edges are less than perfect, though some S&L's of this period aren't great either!!!
The reverse is much easier to identify, as he has used a pin which is similar to a TR Deschler style, with a distinct double tool mark near the top.
The hingeblock is solid, though slightly larger than an S&L, the catch is a thin flatwire one.
These crosses are out there, and do turn up from time to time, but never seemed as popular as his fake RK's which are still fooling people today!!
There is no real chance of anyone being fooled by the Chinese made rubbish he sells today, but these earlier EK's aren't that easy to spot!!!!
You never know...in 50 years time Morigi's may be collectable in their own right
So next time you see a 57 EK1, that appears different to any known maker....just be careful you don't get "Morigi'd"!!!!!
-Nigel