Advice on stamping pendant blanks

Hi all,

I am new to jewellery making and teaching myself from Youtube etc so very glad I found this forum.

I want to have a custom stamp/punch made to stamp onto the Sterling Silver Oval Tag 8x6mm Stamping Blanks that I found on Cooksongold website.

The stamp design is just an outline of a bunny.

I have struggled to find manufacturers of custom stamps in the UK. I have managed to find one and they quoted £140-£160 for a punch about 7mm. Does this price sound reasonable? I can't find any other suppliers to compare it to.

Also if i was to hand stamp, would I just need a steel block and hammer, or is there anything else I would need?

Please could you advise what type of hammer I would need.

Thanks in advance.

Rachel

UK prices for custom stamps are, IMO, very high, and the quality isn't always brilliant.

You might want to consider importing one from the US - https://www.infinitystamps.com/

Their blanks are cheap and very good quality as well if you were to opt for their tagmate system, which is a very easy system to use.

As for the hammer, I always use a brass head for stamping. The weight depends on what you're happy with, but I find a 1lb is more than enough to do the job without ending up exhausted from using something heavier.

7mm seems a big big to me but I suppose it depends on the design

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mizgeorge

UK prices for custom stamps are, IMO, very high, and the quality isn't always brilliant.

You might want to consider importing one from the US -
Their blanks are cheap and very good quality as well if you were to opt for their tagmate system, which is a very easy system to use.

As for the hammer, I always use a brass head for stamping. The weight depends on what you're happy with, but I find a 1lb is more than enough to do the job without ending up exhausted from using something heavier.

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Hi George, thanks so much for your very helpful advice. I did come across Infinity stamps during my search, but thought that it may work out too expensive with the import duty etc. They do seem to be quite a bit cheaper though and if the quality is better, it might be worth it. I will obtain a quote. I will also look into the tagmate system. Thanks, Rachel

Hi Josef,

Yes you are right. I meant to write 3-4mm!

Hi George, thanks so much for your very helpful advice. I did come across Infinity stamps during my search, but thought that it may work out too expensive with the import duty etc. They do seem to be quite a bit cheaper though and if the quality is better, it might be worth it. I will obtain a quote. I will also look into the tagmate system. Thanks, Rachel :o

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rachel K

Hi all,

I am new to jewellery making and teaching myself from Youtube etc so very glad I found this forum.

I want to have a custom stamp/punch made to stamp onto the Sterling Silver Oval Tag 8x6mm Stamping Blanks that I found on Cooksongold website.

The stamp design is just an outline of a bunny.

I have struggled to find manufacturers of custom stamps in the UK. I have managed to find one and they quoted £140-£160 for a punch about 7mm. Does this price sound reasonable? I can't find any other suppliers to compare it to.

Also if i was to hand stamp, would I just need a steel block and hammer, or is there anything else I would need?

Please could you advise what type of hammer I would need.

Thanks in advance.

Rachel

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Beaducatuion.com have lots of stamps, I know I have seen a bunny or 2 on their. Lots of helpful free videos as well. Only thing the postage is a little high depending on what you are buying. It's a good site. Also riogrande.com and ottofrei.com and firemoutaingems.com are places to look too. Maybe kernowcraft.com as well which is local to UK. Hope that helps.

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Hi Peter,

Thanks for your advice. I've had a quick look and the Kernowcraft website looks very useful. I'll have a proper look into the other ones too.

Cheers

Hi George,

The infinity stamps seems to be the best. I am trying to work out how much import duties I will have to pay. I was wondering if you have a rough guide based on what you have paid in the past? I am thinking about starting with just the straight hand stamp to begin with (and also some of their sterling silver tags).

Thanks
Rachel

Here is information about import duty. No doubt George can be more specific.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ho...CqWn8wfs8qjYDg

However items do slip through with no duty at all, presumably when the person responsible is on their tea break.
The unexpected killer is a handling charge by the carrier, which can be another £12-£16, before they release the goods. Dennis.

Hi Rachel,

I have recently got a quote from this guy, who is very quick to respond and has good reviews on his store

https://www.etsy.com/ie/shop/TheSupp...f=pr_shop_more

for a custom stamp its around 130 dollars but he does have a lot of beautiful (well-priced) stamps in his store that might suit your design idea and you can maybe work around the need to get a custom stamp made initially.

Michelle
x

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dennis

Here is information about import duty. No doubt George can be more specific.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ho...CqWn8wfs8qjYDg

However items do slip through with no duty at all, presumably when the person responsible is on their tea break.
The unexpected killer is a handling charge by the carrier, which can be another £12-£16, before they release the goods. Dennis.

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At least we have an import limit before GST (VAT equivalent) of $1,000 when it kicks in at 10%. £120 limit is appalling. I wonder if that will change when you leave the EU?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by choccie

Hi Rachel,

I have recently got a quote from this guy, who is very quick to respond and has good reviews on his store

https://www.etsy.com/ie/shop/TheSupp...f=pr_shop_more

for a custom stamp its around 130 dollars but he does have a lot of beautiful (well-priced) stamps in his store that might suit your design idea and you can maybe work around the need to get a custom stamp made initially.

Michelle
x

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Make sure you check the postage. I looked at one $10 stamp the postage is $22. Very high.

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Hi Peter, yes the problem is the cost of the shipping/duty and vat. Infinity stamps quoted $96/£73.50 for a hand stamp (which is much cheaper than I have been quoted in the UK and quicker turn around), but the shipping will be roughly $39/£30 and the import duty roughly £24.. so in the end it doesn't work out much cheaper at all. :'(

Hi Michelle, thanks for the link. His stamps look amazing, it's just a shame he's US based. I think I've come to the conclusion that it's probably not worth importing due to the additional costs involved. #-o x

Thanks Dennis for the advice. I obtained the correct commodity code for the stamp from HMRC and it looks like the import duty will be roughly £24 or so - just for the hand stamp. I hadn't thought about the handling charge.. thanks for the reminder.

I buy quite a lot via Etsy from the US and its really unusual for UK customs to make a charge, although obviously you do need to factor it in as it does happen sometimes.
The thing Ive noticed recently though is that many Etsy sellers have started charging really high postage- 3 and 4 times what they charged a year ago.

That's strange.. I always get stung by a customs charge when I order anything from the US! I guess I'll have to just see what happens! :">