Habis
Habis was the first silverware company to be established in Lebanon; it was founded in 1944, barely one year after Lebanon's independence. At the time, the company consisted of a small workshop which employed three skilled silversmiths, and one retail outlet. In 1964, the company expanded, moving to larger premises north of Beirut, and hiring more silversmiths; it also diversified its production from sterling silver to more affordable silver plated items, therefore, being able to supply a wider range of customers, from the Presidential Palace, the Middle East Airlines, to the Casino du Liban, and more recently the Phoenicia Inter-Continental Hotel.
On the technical level, Habis uses two very important types of raw materials: brass and silver. Brass is imported from Italy, and is made-up of 67% zinc, and 33% copper. As for silver plating, HABIS silver plates according to the French Federation of Silversmiths and Jewellers, which states that in contact with food must be silver plated at 15 microns, and cutlery items that are frequently used must be silver plated at 33 microns in order to fit the "Quality 1" category.
