A mysterious hand: Saks Fifth Avenue, Made in Austria, and Auböck [UPDATE]

Saks Fifth Avenue and Made in Austria marked figa lighter and horseshoe paperweight

I’ve always admired these figa lighters when I’ve come across them in my searches for Austrian-made brass and bronze. The markings have always intrigued me: “Saks Fifth Avenue” in an elegant, hand-drawn script, and “Made in Austria” in the typical sans-serif of an Austrian mark. They do not come up often, and seem to be […]

Auböck Fakes – Wooden Boxes & Brass Paperweights

Comparison between an authentic Auböck "Foot the Bill" wooden box and brass foot paperweights

It’s not often you stumble across an item that ends up being the missing piece in helping to identify hundreds of Auböck fakes out there on the market. Well, today I found that item, and without the original red cardboard box surrounding it, I still couldn’t be sure it was fake. This item just so […]