I purchased a 16 piece set for my daughter and her boyfriend in black for Christmas. She is on her own now and very very picky which I guess is good because that means she knows what she wants and likes. That being said it was somewhat depressing because a couple of the plates came scratched and one of them was even chipped!  What was really the kicker was that she didn't want to return them because they were the only ones that sold them and they had been sold out of them for a very long long time. Sad but I would have done the same thing. All in all very satisfied and I never thought of the gold forks. Great idea for b day present... Thank