Qiestion about Gillette Aristocrat

[blueheron]

Whar defines a Gillette as a Aristocrat?
I have two Gillette open combs from the 20's the only difference is thr handles
One hadle has a ball tip end, is longer than the 2nd. The second handle is shorter without a ball tip

 

[Spider]

There are a few different models that are called aristocrats, so it's not the design of the razor itself. I believe part of it is that the Aristocrats came in either gold plated or triple silver plating.

 

[EMG06]

Yeah, it’s a name recycled many times through history.

I believe the first Aristocrats were a modified Old Type with a fluted bell handle.

Most people think of the Gold Washed twist to open with an open comb from 1934-36, or the gold plated solid bar twist to open from the late 1940s.

 

[Luecke3262]

@blueheron
There are variants which were based off of the single ring design going all the way back to 1910-14. I know these sets were gold plated or silver and always in special sets, some made with faux ivory most had a bell handle like @EMG06 mentioned.



The 1920’s New Improved razors went gold and rhodium with the new design.



1932 is the year they went with the turn to open design that is loved by collectors.



This is my 1934 Aristocrat



There were many more premium sets to come after these initial variants but including the Big Boy, Regent, Executive, President, etc. the rabbit hole goes deep! Have fun exploring it!

 

[blueheron]

Thanks for the information.

 

[CBLindsay]

Yeah, it’s a name recycled many times through history.

I believe the first Aristocrats were a modified Old Type with a fluted bell handle.

Most people think of the Gold Washed twist to open with an open comb from 1934-36, or the gold plated solid bar twist to open from the late 1940s.

THIS is exactly what I think of when considering what is or isn't an Artistocrat. Honestly, I was aware there were much older versions of Aristocrats but have never seen a 3 piece. And to my mind I consider the Aristocrat TTO to be a top performer whose design is seemingly better than whatever else was being made in that time frame. In other words, in my mind the 'value' of the Aristocrat goes beyond the asthetic and packaging.

Now if you want an other challenge. Describe the Gillette Goodwill razors. I have several and while they share many similarities they are also each very different from one another.

 

[heysi]

From what I can find....In the early years Gillette called any razor they put into a higher priced set by a fancy name. Aristocrat being one of them. The razor itself wasn't what received the name....but the set did. Later they actually recycled the name for the razor...first with the open comb style and later with a safety bar. By the time of the safety bar style, Gillette had worked out their naming issues and decided to name the razor and let the sets be a plussed-up version. A lot of the early Aristocrats are a gold plated or extra silver plated version of a standard razor....thus making it a more sophisticated version of the standard razor. Just remember to hold out your pinky when shaving with one of these plussed-up Aristocrats.

 

[BarberDave]

The #15 British aristocrat is the only one that really matters anyway LOL

 

[blueheron]

Thank you for the information