mixing metals

[plaid preacher]

Don't worry about it, no one will notice... or care.

Elglish Bloke, you are probably right... but just in case I run into another Xmarks member I thought I should ask; as they would know. And I do anticipate probably running into our friend Robert Pel from RKilts. He and I were both in attendance last year.

[MacRobert's Reply]

The military buckle, if it fits the belt, should do just fine.

[English Bloke]

Sir, if you do run into Robert, please pass on my best regards. I hope you both have a grand evening.

[OC Richard]

Perhaps the uniform of The Black Watch mixes metals more than any other.



The Pipe Major's buckles and plaid brooch are silver, but the sporran cantle and dirk are gilt.

The doublet has gold lace and insignia and brass buttons but silver collar badges.

The upper badge on the crossbelt is mixed silver and gilt.

The Pipe Major's pipes are silver mounted but the bagcover has gold fringe.

The Pipe Major and Drum Major wear similar sphinx bonnet badges, one gilt, one silver.

In other words, traditionally it's fine to mix metals.

[Nathan]

In other words, traditionally it's fine to mix metals.

...If you're in the military. Mixing metal colours is common throughout the Commonwealth military and goes far beyond the Highland Regiments. Not sure that this makes it a great idea with civilian attire but any such convention can be bent if you do it right.

[OC Richard]

I wouldn't hesitate to mix metals in civilian dress either. I do with my everyday things: I wear a silver Claddagh ring and gold watch on the same hand.

I used to have a brassmounted dirk that I wore from time to time, with a PC with silver buttons and silver-cantled sporran. Now I have a gilt-mounted sgian that I likewise wear with an outfit that's otherwise silver-mounted. I don't give this mixing a moment's thought until it crops up in a thread such as this.

[Jock Scot]

I wouldn't get too wound up about it, if I were you.

[OC Richard]

Here's a page from Ian Grant (Edinburgh) who makes sporran hardware, buckles, etc and freely mixes metals

http://www.iangrantofedinburgh.com/i...roducts_id=198

Our local Grade One band, the LA Scots, has cap badges, sporrans, sporran chains, and kilt pins from Ian Grant and they all mix gold and silver.

and I found this set on Ebay just today



Not saying that I'm a big fan of mixing of metals! Just that it's always been common.

[plaid preacher]

Well, thank you everyone for your input. Had a lovely time last evening at the Stratford Symphony's Celtic concert, although it was a wee bit wintry in these parts. I was disappointed that there weren't more klities in attendance. A couple of gentlemen in the orchestra were sporting highland wear and I guess three of us in the audience, myself, another gentleman in a Black Argyll with tartan kilt and a gentleman who was in the balcony just behind me in a tweed kilt (one of RKilts creations I am assuming). Anyway, here I am all dolled up for the evening. Reflecting on the recent discussions on dress I was probably most formal in attendance; but when you get a mixture of everything from suits and ties to t-shirts and jeans are there really any rules any more?
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[Farmer Jones]

As Scott mentioned, the British Army didn't seem to mind mixing metals in the early 1950's when the MK1 MoD sporran was designed, they used a brass cantle, with white metal studs attached to the face of the cantle.
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The Canadian army does not seem to mind either. At our Robert Burns dinner this past weekend, at the Legion, we had members in full regalia, some of whom were wearing presentation pieces, given by the regiment on retiring. Of particular note was the dirk used to cut the haggis. In that case the badges, cantle, and buckles, were silver, but the dirk was all in gold.