Latest acquisition - rare Gillette set

When I saw this on eBay Germany, I got a little excited. Then when I saw it was from the personal collection of Achim, aka mr-razor, I got even more excited and hit the Buy It Now button. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this purchase with you all. It's a rare set to come across and as is known in the razor collecting world, if it's made by Gillette, Achim probably has it. I consider him and Len, aka Oldguy, to be my unofficial Gillette mentors - most of what I know about Gillette, and am still learning about Gillette, come from these 2 valuable members of the wet shaving community.

Looking forward to giving this set a nice home in my personal collection. :happy108

So here it is...

1957 British "Gillette Travel Set"; contains Medium Rocket razor in near mint condition, "6 Blue Gillette Blades" dispenser with date code C-3 (1957) on blades, leather travel case and original shipper box

 

Very cool! happy088

 

Looks Nice Jody. Congrats.

Were there not many made of that razor or is it the case and cardboard shipper that make it a rarity?

Enjoy it.

 

Very nice!

 

I believe it's the presentation that makes them rare... the leather case. All of the Rockets I've seen came in hard plastic cases similar to the US version we call the Super Speed. I believe Rockets themselves are a dime a dozen in the UK just as Super Speeds are here in the US. It's also nice to have the shipper box too, on any razor.

 

One thing not mentioned on Achim's site or in his eBay listing, is the plating. I'm assuming it's nickel plated but wouldn't be surprised, due to Gillette UK's love affair with rhodium, if it is rhodium plated. I doubt it is rhodium but wouldn't be surprised if it was. Maybe Achim or someone else will confirm if it's nickel or rhodium. Until then, I'm going with nickel. I don't think it's one of the aluminum Rockets because of its weight.

 

Very nice Jody!

 

Very Cool!

Kewl Beans!

 

Real nice find there Jody!

 

there is another british superspeed travel set-the deluxe-with the rhodium plated tv british flare tip superspeed. another rare set; i believe have seen one for sale on uk ebay last year.

 

wow nice score...

 

Very nice set Jody!

 

Awesome! And now I know one of your secrets! You don't have to worry about be poaching your finds though, they're still way out of my price range.

 

Yes, that's a nice set as well and is rare.

No secrets here. I've even given out the specific search strings I use on eBay. If someone beats me, they wanted it more than I did.

 

Hi Jody,
That's a beautiful set and yes you're right. The razor isn't so rare but the complete set with leather case surely is. I have not seen another one.

Congrats. Beautiful.

Len

 

Nice razor and thanks ...."for the rest of the story" which is what makes this thread so interesting for me. Old Guy has been very helpful on the Pocket/ABC sets for me personally in the past.

 

As always Len, thanks for your insight. Hope you're doing well!

He's a treasure trove of information.. one of the few around that you can ask a question about a Gillette and he's got the answer for you.

Now if I could only pick out what I want from his personal collection... :happy097

 

glad you snatched that one up jody. it's a beauty

 

Now if I could only pick out what I want from his personal collection...
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That is easy, ABC empire in gunmetal:whacky084 (oldguy at head chair)