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Commissions
Christopher is always keen to consider commissions as he sees these as a way
to develop his skills as a silversmith and a jeweller, as well as an excellent
opportunity to come up with new and exciting designs. Pricing is primarily
dependant on the raw material costs and the length of time it takes to do, but
if it is an interesting project that makes a good story, Christopher tends to be
very competitive.
Christopher has made a variety of items for varying purposes, a few examples of
which are shown below:
Things to consider when thinking about commissioning Christopher to make a
piece:
Finish
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There are three basic types of finish: planished, mirror or
satin.
Christopher tends to steer clear of satinised finishes, as they make the
pieces look suspiciously like brushed stainless steel, but it does have a
place as a tool for highlighting areas.
Planishing gives a lovely third dimension to a silver face, causing it to
sparkle as each faces catches the light. It also has the advantage of not
showing fingerprints or scratches. Unfortunately, it can sometimes cause
an item to look busy or dated, so needs to be used carefully.
Mirror finishes are extremely elegant but often a bit fragile and need
regular cleaning. Christopher often breaks up a mirror finish with
hallmarks so that the eye is not drawn to any imperfections caused by wear and tear. |
Hallmarking
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Christopher tends to use hallmarks as decoration on his
pieces, although he does not hallmark everything and they are not a
compulsory part of an item. They usually add about £5 per set to the
price of a commission, as well as a week in time as they are processed
through the London Assay Office. For more detail, see the Hallmarks
page. |
Complexity
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This affects pricing and time. The simplest designs are the
ones which you could cut from a thick piece of card. Soldering, raising
and casting all add to the complexity and detail of craftsmanship required
to make the piece. |
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Engraving |
Chris uses a trustworthy engraver based in Hatton Gardens.
He tends to charge by the letter and is terrible at giving quotes, but his
work is excellent. The cost of engraving will be additional to the cost of
the silver, and may add a week or two to the length of time it takes to make
the commission. |
Some notes on the design of cufflinks and key fobs
Shape
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Cufflinks and key fobs tend to brush by things, press into
things etc, so it is worth avoiding pointed elements in the design and
fragile features on the surface. These will either bend, stab the user
or scratch your desk. |
Size
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Christopher's basic shape for a cufflink is 2cm long and 1cm
wide, but there is a lot of room for manoeuvre here. If they are too small
then they will not hold in the cuff, too large and they look silly (a 2p
coin is about as large as you can really go). If in
doubt, come up with the design and submit it to Christopher. He can then
scale it using his knowledge of what works.
Key fobs need to be sized so that they are easy to use. As above, if they
are too large, then they will look a bit silly. |
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