General Information

What is PMC - the product used for making silver fingerprints?

In the 1990s, scientists at Mitsubishi in Japan developed a material called precious metal clay (PMC).  This clay-like substance contains particles of silver suspended in an organic binder.  When firing the item, the organic binder burns away, leaving you with an item which is 99.9% silver.  The silver itself is environmentally friendly, being recycled and reclaimed from a number of sources, such as film stock and negatives.   Mitsubishi also produces a gold clay.

How is it done?

The image - hand, foot, artwork or fingerprint - is transferred onto the PMC,  personal information eg. name/date is added and once dried and finished off, it is fired. The silver is then polished and antiqued, which will show up the fine print.

Fingerprints can be taken of children of all ages, although you may find that very young children do not yet have a very defined fingerprint. There is no upper age limit, so if you wish to make a charm bracelet including all members of your family, this is entirely possible!
Items are all individual and hand-crafted.  Silver fingerprint items will generally take about 2 weeks to be completed and returned to you, but if you need them done quicker, please do ask.  Other items eg. hand/feet/artwork can take up to 3 weeks to produce.

How do you transfer the prints from either the mould or the paper to the silver?

As I am sure you will understand, I cannot divulge this information freely - all my processes and the products I use are my intellectual capital.  I spent many months searching for the perfect products to use and then perfecting the techniques that I use.  Whether they are the same as my competitors or different, I could not say, as I have found my own methods of transferring the various types of prints and images and getting a good result.  Please do not ask, as I do not wish to offend - my methods, techniques and all products I use are my trade secret!

What products do you use for the moulds and inkless prints?

The moulding material for the mail-order kits is non-toxic, but it is advised that you do not allow small children to play with it, as it is a potential choking hazard. I have not experienced problems with skin irritations from the moulding material - the process of taking the print is very quick and the finger is not in contact with the moulding material for more than 2 or 3 seconds. 

The inkless wipes are used in maternity hospitals and for general fingerprinting and although they are harmless to your baby or child, I recommend that you wash hands and feet after using them.

Disclaimer:  To date I've had no problems re skin irritations with products that I use, but you are solely responsible for making the decision to use any products on your children's hands or feet.

From what age can you take fingerprints or handprints of babies and children?

Handprints/Footprints - I would recommend waiting until your baby is about 18 months before attempting handprints, as they tend to curl their hands when they are newborn, causing smudges to prints. However, baby footprints always work well and are suitable for a range of items. Toddlers are usually very co-operative when it comes to making hand and footprints and delight in seeing the finished results.

Fingerprints - In my experience there is no hard and fast rule about how old a child must be before you see their fingerprint lines - I've had fabulous results from babies as young as 3 weeks, where every line was visible and then found that children as old as 3 yrs may still not have a very defined print.  Each print is unique and each child is different.  In most cases there are always a few lines visible and, of course, there is the impression of the child's finger.  When I'm asked how old the child should be, I always say "why wait?" - a tiny print is so cute and is a lasting memory of how small your child was!

How do I care for my products?

Silver jewellery can be cleaned with an anti-tarnish/impregnated polishing cloth.  Avoid using any liquid cleaners, as it may remove the antiquing.  Do remove your jewellery when using household cleaners, especially bleach and bathroom cleaners, as this may mark and ruin your fine and sterling silver. Regularly check all findings and fittings for wear and tear.

If you wish to be environmentally friendly and clean your silver with natural products, you can use toothpaste which has baking soda in it - further information about this can be found on this link  http://blog.elementalsilver.com/2008/04/10/eco-friendly-silver-jewelry-cleaner-toothpaste/

In VERY rare cases skin acidity may cause your fine silver piece to discolour.  If this happens, please contact me to discuss options for restoring the piece - in some cases the discolouration can be very stubbon and you may need specialist products to clean it. 

To Hallmark or not to Hallmark?

Current legislation states that silver items that weigh less than 7.78 grams need not be hallmarked.  On average, the pieces produced for fingerprinting weigh less than this.  PMC is of hallmark quality and would be hallmarked 999 (Fine Silver) should items be sent to the Assay Office for hallmarking. All findings and fittings are 925 Sterling Silver and are in most cases already hallmarked. 

At present, if you require an item to be hallmarked for personal reasons, please be aware that this would delay delivery dates of completed items and incur an additional charge of £25 per order. Each Hallmark is 0.5mm and items will be laser marked with my maker's mark, London Assay Office (Leopard), Fineness and Year, on the back of the item.

Data Protection

I do not share any of your personal information with other parties. 

With regards to fingerprint moulds - these are kept safely and when disposed of, will not be disposed of with personal information attached and will be destroyed sufficiently so that no data can be taken from the moulds.  If you wish to have your moulds returned with your finished products, please let me know, otherwise I will keep them for about a year, so that if you wish to have further products made from the same mould, you can do so.

Payment Methods

Payment for internet orders will be accepted in advance over the phone by debit/credit card from August 2008 - this is now my preferred method of payment.  I also accept cash and guaranteed cheques or postal orders.

Please note that although I can still accept payment through PayPal, this is no longer my preferred method of payment and if you wish to use this method, orders will be subject to an additional 5% to cover admin and commission.