(VERY GRACIOUS, BUT I WOULD GIVE IT 4 1/2 STARS IF I COULD. SEE COMMENTS BELOW.) Oneida's 18/10 stainless flatware is superb quality and the Michelangelo pattern is gorgeous, very traditional and romantic. This style used to be common in past generations, but is now relatively rare. The Michelangelo pattern was nowhere in our local stores, even though we are just a few minutes from a major metropolitan area, with excellent shopping. In spite of being quite satisfied with my purchase, I do have a few qualifying comments to share with potential customers about design. First, the spoons tend to be much shorter than those of other stainless sets, quite a bit shorter than the forks and knives in the same set. My husband particularly complains about this. The Michelangelo pattern, while elegant, seems to impede his grip on and use of the utensils, and this is most noticeable with the tablespoon and dinner fork. I have less difficulty, so it may be more a matter of personal choice, but I do see what he means. Second, there is little difference in size between the teaspoon and tablespoon. If you are pasta-twirlers, the tablespoon's small size and ornate design may cause you more of a challenge. It is neither the traditional wide soup spoon, nor the elongated full tablespoon of my previous set, and also different from those we use in restaurants. Third, thought stated as dishwasher safe, I am a bit chagrined at the more-detailed care instructions. My casual in-the-dishwasher-for-days treatment of previous stainless, as well as use of citrus foods and lemony dishwasher detergent, may in fact explain why my previous stainless, purchased in 1968 at a luxury Japanese department store in NYC, eventually tarnished. In constant use all these decades, it owes me nothing, and I'm glad I was able to treat it so cavalierly, but in light of what Michelangelo costs I may pay more attention to care of my new flatware, at least for a while. Finally, the price astonishes me, but I suppose in this era of inflation it should seem normal. (The government keeps telling us inflation is very low...hmmm.) Quite some years back I bought a service for 12 of the alas-now-defunct Brahms pattern (now only available on Amazon for child/youth sets, a marvelous baby gift!) for a young friend who was marrying. Probably the most gorgeous stainless flatware I've ever seen and somewhat similar to Michelangelo, I hope she treasures it because, judging from what I've now spent buying 10 place settings of Michelangelo (first 8, later 2 at a better price each) without any serving pieces, her then-$115 all-inclusive set--12 5-piece place settings, as well as many serving pieces--would probably now cost circa $500! I am nevertheless assuming this heirloom quality is worth it and should last most of a lifetime. P.S. BE SURE TO COMPARE PRICES AMONG AMAZON SELLERS!
