The Creme D'Argent rabbit originated in France, as did its counterpart, the Champagne D'Argent.  The difference is in the color.  The Creme can be best described as "Orange Silver".  They first made their appearance in this country just prior to 1924 and since have attracted quite a following, having admirers because of their luxurious and rich colored fur.

     The Creme D'Argent is bred mainly for the fur in France and has a top weight of 7 pounds.  Cremes were considered a six class rabbit when they came to the United States and the standards called for an increase in the weight and a commercial type body.  The improvement of the Creme over the last ten years has been astonishing, but many breeders still fight mandolin type and low shoulders (common characteristics of the Creme in France).  The struggle with low shoulders comes mainly from a bone structure that was made for seven pound rabbits and now carries a ten plus pound rabbit.  Creme D'Argent rabbits are, by the rule, considered a meat breed or meat type rabbits.  The first thing to consider in any meat type breed is "TYPE".

     You can pick up the standard for the breed and see quickly that it calls for a medium length body with well developed shoulders and hindquarters.  Sometimes we don't fully apply this description.  In all meat breeds the hindquarters are where the most and best meat is carried so it should be the first thing checked after it has been determined that an animal is free from disqualifications.

     We sometimes fail in our assessment of what is meant by full hindquarters.  It should be well rounded, to a degree, in appearance from all or any angle that it may be viewed from.  Full means to be full or rounded over the back and the hips and to not slope off to the sides nor slope or seemingly drop off over the back end.  Many good animals lack just a little depth or fullness over the center of the hips as they flow down towards the table.  Another point to watch is that they carry fullness down to the table.  Many will show when viewed from the top or side a full hindquarter but if checked closely have a tendency to be undercut as you near the lower part of the hindquarters.

     Color is the most important feature of the Crème and can be best described as “Orange Silver”.  It needs to be rich and show luster when finished and surface color desired is not too dark.  A good creamy white surface color with an under color is desired.  Guard hairs should be interspersed “liberally” throughout the entire coat and should be orange in color.  Under color should be rich orange showing brightness and to be ideal must carry all the way down to the skin.  It should not fade out as to leave the appearance of ring color in the fur.  A blue cast to the under color is considered slate coloring (may appear on top of tail) and any rabbit showing this should be culled.

     If you have proper under color the muzzle and ears will appear darker than the balance of the body.  The main reason the ears look darker is that the fur is short and most times thin on the ear so what you actually see is the under color showing through.  If you will lay the ear down on the body you will find that the fur on the ear usually matches the body closely so they should not be cut for darkness unless the actual fur is dark.  With each successive molt the breed will tend to lose some of its under color and as it loses the under color the animal will appear lighter.

     At no time should a good senior that is showing age be cut for the lack of under color or lightness in overall appearance.  In judging them if you have one that is equal in every other respect and does have better under color and surface color, it should be given preference but others should not be cut for lack of color.

     You may notice an occurrence of black hairs on the edges of the ears called "lacing".  Lacing is a common problem in the Creme and should be faulted.  Most of the lacing in the Creme comes from the Lynx Palomino genetics.  Many breeders tried to improve the quality of the Creme by crossing it with breeds like the Flemish Giants, Cinnamons, Palominos and New Zealands.  These attempts have haunted Creme breeders for years because you get low shoulders, lacing and variations in color.  The quality of the Creme D'Argent has improved because of dedication in breeding and culling.
 
 

     The first Crème D’Argents reached the United States just prior to 1924 and were imported from France along with Champagne D’Argents and the Argente Clairs by a Mr. E.W.C. Arnold of Oknok Rabbitry of Babylon, Long Island, New York. These Cremes were first recognized in the 1926 Standard.  The Cremes were then dropped in the next Standard.  More importation took place in 1933 when a Mr. G.F. Lowell imported a trio from England (Lowell was secretary of the Champagne Federation). That same year a Mr. Robertson of Long Island, N.Y. imported a pair from Germany. Cremes were given a working standard again at the Columbus, Ohio Convention in 1938. 

     These two imported lines were crossed amongst themselves, yet the breeders were constantly plagued with dark ears and black guard hairs. Harry Clauss of Canandaigua, New York ended up buying all the imported stock from Robertson and Lowell. He soon learned too that he was faced with the same problems of the dark hairs. Clauss secured a fawn-colored buck of New Zealand type which actually turned out to be a small Fawn Flemish Giant. The fawn was mated to the does of both strains, and then brother and sisters were mated together. This simple combination is credited for getting the breed established in those early days. These particular Creme D'Argents were shown for the first time at the Fort Wayne, Indiana Convention in 1936 where they attracted a great deal of interest. 

     During the mid 1940’s the Champagne Federation offered to sponsor the Creme D'Argent within the Champagne Federation.  The Creme breeders refused the offer. 

     The Creme has not been recognized as a breed in France for many, many years. When they were recognized though, they were mainly bred for fur and had a top weight of 7 pounds. Today, only England and the United States recognize Cremes with England having a top weight of only 5 pounds versus America’s 10 pound senior does.  The Crème D’Argent is not even recognized by the European Federation, which means the Crème D’Argent is an endangered breed.  Bob Witman (December 2005) is working very hard to get the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy to accept the breed. This decision will be made at their board meeting in January 2006.

     Cremes were considered a six class rabbit when they came to the United States and the standards called for an increase in the weight and a commercial type body.  The improvement of the Crème over the last ten years has been astonishing, but many breeders still fight mandolin type and low shoulders (common characteristics of the Crème from France) and low weights.  The struggle with low shoulders comes mainly from a bone structure that was made for seven pound rabbits and now carries a ten plus pound rabbit.  Crème D’Argents are, by the rule, considered a meat breed or meat type rabbit.  The first thing to consider in any meat type breed is “TYPE”.