Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 32

Thread: Silver casting in the UK

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Dubai (originally from Brighton UK)
    Posts
    39

    Default Silver casting in the UK

    Hi,

    I am currently living in Dubai, but will probably soon be returning to the UK soon. I sell a lot of my work on ETSY, and 99% of my designs are cast from originals made by me.

    My questions are,

    1. What is the going rate for silver casting in the UK (I will be moving back to Brighton, East Sussex) ?

    2. What happens re hall marks, e.g. are the castings sent back to me, for me to then send off to have hallmarked - which I would prefer as 90% of my work is sold outside of the UK (so I am assuming I would not need to have this hallmarked and I could keep my costs down). Or does all cast silver get sent to assay office before it's returned to me

    3. How much does it cost to have your silver hallmarked ?

    Some background info ....

    Here in Dubai I pay a charge to make a mould of my work which is around 5 - 10 pounds (per mould).

    Then I pay 50p per gram casting charge. This include the cost of making the wax, and the whole casting process. (but no finishing - that is all done by me)

    I buy 1KG of silver at the market rate, and the caster then mixes this with the appropriate ratio of copper (of which I pay market rate for as well) in order to create the casting grain (this process is all included in my 50p per gram casting charge.

    Warm Regards Paul Townsend

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Staffordshire
    Posts
    1,727

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Townsend View Post
    Hi,

    I am currently living in Dubai, but will probably soon be returning to the UK soon. I sell a lot of my work on ETSY, and 99% of my designs are cast from originals made by me.

    My questions are,

    1. What is the going rate for silver casting in the UK (I will be moving back to Brighton, East Sussex) ? Depends on the current silver price, plus casting charge and size of casting could incur oversize charge......, plus mold cutting/spruing, unless you sort these yourself??....

    2. What happens re hall marks, e.g. are the castings sent back to me, for me to then send off to have hallmarked - which I would prefer as 90% of my work is sold outside of the UK (so I am assuming I would not need to have this hallmarked and I could keep my costs down). Or does all cast silver get sent to assay office before it's returned to me Castings are returned to you to sort hallmarking

    3. How much does it cost to have your silver hallmarked ? Depends on what the piece os...earring, brooch, pendant, etc....also the more you have hallmarked per hall note the cheaper it becomes....

    Some background info ....

    Here in Dubai I pay a charge to make a mould of my work which is around 5 - 10 pounds (per mould).

    Then I pay 50p per gram casting charge. This include the cost of making the wax, and the whole casting process. (but no finishing - that is all done by me)

    I buy 1KG of silver at the market rate, and the caster then mixes this with the appropriate ratio of copper (of which I pay market rate for as well) in order to create the casting grain (this process is all included in my 50p per gram casting charge.

    Warm Regards Paul Townsend
    I sort my own molds too and pay £7-10, depending on size, casting charge is similar, but more for oversize items,.....this includes the wax, casting, etc, but no finishing.....I don't know of any casters in the UK that will allow you to supply your own grain....others may though??

    I think my answers may sound a little vague, apologies,....I can try to be more specific if this hasn't been helpful??

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Dubai (originally from Brighton UK)
    Posts
    39

    Default

    Hi Jill,
    Thanks for your reply.

    What happens regarding Hallmarks, is that left for you to do once you get the casting back ?
    And which company do you use for your casting ?

    Thanks Paul

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    England
    Posts
    1,902

    Default

    Hallmarking is usually done when the jobs are near finished, as the Assay office wants to see and test any extras used on castings such as links or findings.
    I have had a great postal service from Niagara Falls Casting, see; http://www.nf-castings.co.uk/web2013/

    James

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Dubai (originally from Brighton UK)
    Posts
    39

    Default

    Thanks James, how much do they charge ?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    England
    Posts
    1,902

    Default

    [QUOTE=Paul Townsend;71279]Thanks James, how much do they charge ?[/QUOTE

    I don't make jewellery so I cannot help you there my cast pieces have been large one offs, I am sure their prices are competitive and probably depend on sizes and amounts required, it costs nothing to contact them and ask.

    James

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    268

    Default

    I have used NexGen and Wardle and had great service from both! For prices, best contact them to get quotes on your specific requirements. Depends on complexity, weight of piece, numbers cast and stuff like that. And of course the silver price.

    Carin
    Carin Lindberg

    Camali Design
    www.camalidesign.com

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    London
    Posts
    502

    Default

    Regarding hallmarking, it depends really on whether you want a traditional struck mark, or a laser mark. If you want it laser marked, then please send it to us finished and polished, as although laser marking is reasonably deep, it's not as deep as a struck mark, and enthusiastic polishing may result in a loss of definition of the mark. If you want it struck, then you can send it in at any time after casting, though most people usually clean up and assemble the casting first. Remember if the item is not completely assembled when you send it in for hallmarking, we will need to see all the metal component parts, so for example, if you have a two piece casting for a ring, we would need to see both shank and collet. If you need info on pricing and so on, you can download all the necessary from our website: www.assayofficelondon.co.uk
    Hope this helps?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Dubai (originally from Brighton UK)
    Posts
    39

    Default

    Hi Steve,

    Am I correct in saying that I would only need to hallmark work that is sold in the UK, if the work is being sent to USA for example, it does not need to be hallmarked ?

    Thanks Paul

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    London
    Posts
    502

    Default

    If it is for direct export to the US then you won't need UK hallmarks on it, but you might like to check with the US regarding what regulations they would require you to follow?

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •