Sugar tongs from the Channel Islands are rare. In fact any early silver from the Channel Islands is rare. There has never been as assay office on the Channel Islands but silver has been made there from as early as the beginning of the seventeenth century. Generally silver will only have the maker's mark, but sometimes other marks can be seen such as a harp, a "J", "GH" or a fleur de lys. The channel Island law did state that the standard of silver was to be the same as that of England. Sugar tongs will usually be of a quite distinctive style, very often with a monogram which is three letters rather than the more normal two. Charles William Quesnel is one of the most prolific of the Jersey silver-smiths and was producing work from c1810 - 1850. There are 2 marks seen "CQ" and "CWQ"