Custom Electroforming

Earth Relics Jewelry Company now offers custom gold electroforming (heavy plating) for individuals, jewelry designers, shops, and website owners all over the United States. I have electroformed hundreds of different types of items, such as jewelry components, pendants, crystals, sea shells, semi-precious stones, fossils and more. Each electroformed item has a super bright luster combined with the warm glow of 18kt gold.

In addition, I now apply a completely invisible, highly abrasion-resistant, baked-on protective coating onto the gold for greater durability and a longer life.

These guidelines cover all aspects of my custom electroforming, including my pricing. Please read all this very important information carefully. By contracting my services, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions contained herein. These terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Amendments to these terms and conditions will be posted to this web page.

At this time, I electroform only for customers in the U.S. and Canada. I currently only electroform in 18kt gold and nickel.

Pricing guide:

All measurements are determined by the greatest width, height, or diagonal of each piece.

Items up to 1" in height or width: $14.50
Items 1-1/8" and up to 1-1/2" in height or width: $16.50 each
Items 1-5/8" and up to 2" in height or width: $18.50 each
Items 2-1/8" and up to 2-1/2" in height or width: $20.00 each
2-1/2 inches is the maximum size I will custom electroform

Important: When considering sending items to be electroformed, please read all of the information below first.

Checklist for sending items for plating

Always let me know ahead of time by email that a package is on its way. Remember to include your mailing address, email address, and phone number in your package so I can contact you if I have any questions. I respect your privacy and will never sell or give away your information to any third party.

Include an inventory sheet with the total number of each of the items you are sending, keeping a copy for yourself. Individual packets should have quantities written on them. I photograph all items when they arrive, and I strongly suggest you do the same. If you have a particular deadline for items to be returned to you, you must let me know the exact deadline prior to shipping items to me. I will let you know if I think I can meet that deadline.

If you want a bail or ring attached to your jewelry pieces in a specific location, you must let me know where by a good illustration or by drawing on a photo. If you want a particular sized jump ring attached, you must tell me what size ring you want, measured by the inner diameter. Remember, a 2.5mm inner diameter ring will become a 2.0mm inner diameter ring once it is plated. You must also tell me which way you want the opening of the ring to face, either parallel to the face (front) of the pendant or turned sideways so a chain can pass through it.

Very important: I do not plate any items that do not have a bail or ring attached to them.

Tell me how you want each item plated, for example a gold trim around the edge, a ring at each end, or on corners of the pendant. Sketches are very useful, especially if you scan a photo of your items and sketch where you want the gold to be on the actual scanned image. If you want a bail or bails attached at a particular spot on a jewelry piece, you can put a small dot on it using a fine-tipped felt-tipped pen. Important: I do not plate any items that do not have a bail or ring attached.

When sending inexpensive items, I highly recommend sending extras whenever possible, putting them in a separate bag and marking them as extras. Be sure to include them on your inventory list. If an item does not plate well, I will use the extras as replacements. I can return the extras with the shipped items or hang on to them to use in future orders; let me know which option you prefer. Please do not send me boxes full of items to store for you.

Special considerations when sending items to be electroformed

Be aware that there is always some risk involved in plating items. Although very rare, it is possible that an item can be damaged in my plating solutions. Although I have over twenty years of plating experience and have many products I can use to minimize damage to any item being plated, I do not guarantee any pieces that are being plated. I will not be responsible for any damage that may occur to any piece being plated or for replacing that piece, regardless of the cause. Although the risk is minimal, do not send any items to be plated that are sentimental or otherwise special.

On pieces to be plated that have rough finishes, textures, or pitted areas, the plating over these areas will not be as smooth as if plating over a smooth surface. In some cases, I can smooth rough areas using fillers. Time spent on the steps involved in making these improvements may result in a higher price per piece. I do not guarantee the smoothness of plating over any surfaces, especially rough, pitted, or otherwise irregular surfaces.

I cannot electroform pieces that have a metallic finish on them that looks like the colors of oil on water (purple, green, bluish tints). If you are uncertain if pieces you have are of this type, you can send them and I will return them unfinished with the rest of your order if I am unable to electroform them.

There may be slight variations in the gold plating color, thickness of metal deposition, and variations in appearance on similar items. This is due to the natural variations expected with electroforming.

I electroform all items with a thickness of gold that is greater than the minimum required by law to legally call something gold-plated. My gold solutions have additives that make the finish more durable and abrasion-resistant. However, I do not offer any guarantees or warranties on the life of the gold plating. I recommend that electroformed pendants be treated like any other quality jewelry, and not be worn when bathing or swimming. When storing the jewelry for prolonged periods, store it at room temperature, in a relatively low-humidity area. After prolonged wear, wiping the electroformed gold with a soft cloth will help restore the original luster.

Custom electroforming can be a very difficult undertaking and, on some occasions, a plating project may take longer to complete for unexpected reasons. Please be patient if some of your items are delayed. Please do not promise a customer a delivery deadline unless you check with me first to make sure I can meet that deadline. Please keep in mind that all estimated completion dates are approximations, not guarantees. I will not be responsible for any monetary losses a customer may incur for missed deadlines.

Pricing

There is a strict minimum order of $50 (not counting shipping and insurance). While I will process orders that total less than $50, the invoice for services will still be $50. For the best value, if you have only one item to send, consider sending enough additional items to reach that minimum amount.

My pricing guidelines are based on the size of the item to be plated. Here are some factors when plating that may add a small extra cost to the item being plated:

Having more than one ring or bail attached to the item.
Plating the entire surface of an item in gold.
Additional plating on an item, such as across the face of a pendant, in addition to plating around the edge of a piece.
Items that are to be plated wider than one-eighth inch in width, as these items require more gold along the edges.

When plating large orders, I may elect to send some pieces before the others are completed, and an invoice will be sent listing the items in the partial shipment. This invoice is due when it is received.

Exclusive plating: I rarely offer any of my clients the exclusive rights on having any type of item plated. Unless I agree to plate any item for you exclusively (ahead of time) please do not ask me to make this kind of agreement later on.

Shipping

All packages are shipped by USPS priority mail, with insurance and delivery confirmation. The insurance will cover only the cost I am charging for electroforming. If you wish to have the items insured to also cover the cost of the items when you bought them, you must include this information in the instructions (including the amount) when you send the package. Otherwise, that insurance will not be added and I will not be responsible for the cost of the items.

If delivery confirmation shows that a package was delivered, then I consider it delivered. After the delivery, I will not be responsible for any loss or theft of the package. If I am shipping to Canada and have to fill out a customs form, the form will always state exactly what is in the package. Please do not ask me to list the contents in a way designed to reduce the custom fees.

Invoices

Invoices are sent through PayPal via an email. You can make the payment by following the PayPal link in the email, and you do not have to be a member of PayPal to make a credit card payment. If you wish to pay by other means, please contact me in advance.

ALL INVOICES ARE DUE WHEN YOU RECEIVE IT BY EMAIL, NOT WHEN YOUR PACKAGE ARRIVES. IN ORDER TO KEEP ORDERS SHIPPED OUT ON A TIMELY BASIS, I DO NOT OFFER OTHER PAYMENT TERMS. NO ORDERS WILL BE SHIPPED AND NO WORK WILL BEGIN ON ANY NEW ORDERS UNTIL ALL INVOICES THAT PREVIOUSLY HAVE BEEN SENT ARE PAID.

Non-compete terms

In addition to offering custom electroforming for jewelers, I have a retail website where I sell my own electroformed jewelry pendants. I will also soon have a quantity discount page where I offer electroformed pendants to jewelers, stores, shops, and boutiques. I have offered hundreds of different items for many years and will continue to do so, including on Etsy, Facebook, Instagram, etc. I do not offer items that are duplicates of my customers' totally unique designs. However, I will continue to offer items that are commonly electroformed, are offered on other websites already, or are of the same or similar types of designs or materials that I have sold in the past.

If you have any questions, please email me at email@earthrelics.com or call: 843-821-9500, Eastern Time.

Vance McCollum