Sterling Silver Crest Badges anyone?

[Highlander31]

Those are absolutely beautiful Matt.

[Strings]

Unfortunately, that's one thing I won't buy. kinda hard to justify purchasing a piece in silver when I can make it myself... ;)

I will echo what MacMillan of Rathdown said: silver is currently (17 Nov, 0551) $18.33/ounce and rising. Add in casting costs (getting a master made runs me $75) and the artist's time in creating the original wax, and $120 starts to sound like he's giving them away. Snag 'em before he comes to his senses!

[Deil the Yin]

So... how far does "...your specific and unique requirements can usually be accommodated." go? Could I design my own stylised belt and buckle with celtic knotwork? Being derived from a coat-of-arms, I'm curious as to what sort of "requirements" could one actually change on a crest badge besides stylistic/artistic changes?

More importantly, could he possibley do "repairs" on a pre-existing silver crest badge? Mine has a slight mis-spelling of the Gaelic motto that has always been an irritation.

Thanks,
Wesley

[Strings]

More importantly, could he possibley do "repairs" on a pre-existing silver crest badge? Mine has a slight mis-spelling of the Gaelic motto that has always been an irritation.

I'm going to guess that this would be difficult to "repair", as you'd pretty much have to redo the piece.

It's POSSIBLE to do this without completely recreating the piece from scratch: if you want the process detailed, I can.

There would also be a possibility of trying to remove the text, and solder in replacement text. But that would be VERY tricky...

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

So... how far does "...your specific and unique requirements can usually be accommodated." go? Could I design my own stylised belt and buckle with celtic knotwork? Being derived from a coat-of-arms, I'm curious as to what sort of "requirements" could one actually change on a crest badge besides stylistic/artistic changes?

From a strictly heraldic point of view, you can have your crest, or arms, interpreted in any style you choose, so long as the basic elements are still recognizable. The herald painters of the 13th century and the 19th century worked in totally different styles, yet both produced excellent heraldry. So, if you wanted a crest badge in, say, an art deco style, I'm sure your silversmith -- for a fee -- could satisfy your whim.

What you can not change are the basic elements. These are set forth in the blazon in the original letters patent of the grant of arms. If the crest/badge is blazoned "A lion rampant, sable" then that's how it must be drawn, or worked in some other medium, such as sliver. How the lion is depicted-- anything from something totally naturalistic, to something "representative" is fine, as long as it looks like a rampant lion. Likewise, the buckle and strap has to look like a buckle and strap. You may, of course, design your own stylized buckle and strap as the embellishments are entirely up to you provided that the design agrees with the blazon.

[jhockin]

And do you have X Marks badges, in silver? i might think about getting one of THOSE!
- on the subject of "allegiance to the clan chief": since most ( not all chiefs did this) of our Scottish ancestors were thrown off the clan land, to make way for sheep ( "the Highland clearances"), i personally, ( and I mean no offense to anyone, by this) wouldn't feel much "allegiance" to their descendants ( no personal grudge, either).

[M. A. C. Newsome]

And do you have X Marks badges, in silver? i might think about getting one of THOSE!
- on the subject of "allegiance to the clan chief": since most ( not all chiefs did this) of our Scottish ancestors were thrown off the clan land, to make way for sheep ( "the Highland clearances"), i personally, ( and I mean no offense to anyone, by this) wouldn't feel much "allegiance" to their descendants ( no personal grudge, either).

If you do not wish to display allegiance to a chief because of something his ancestors did 200 years ago, that's up to you. Don't wear his crest badge.

But that has absolutely nothing to do with this thread. Please let's not take this off topic.

Re: the X Marks badge, sure he could make one up. He's done badges for SAMS (the Scottish American Military Society) and other groups before.

[macwilkin]

Post deleted after reading Matt's reply above.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

So... how far does "...your specific and unique requirements can usually be accommodated." go? Could I design my own stylised belt and buckle with celtic knotwork? Being derived from a coat-of-arms, I'm curious as to what sort of "requirements" could one actually change on a crest badge besides stylistic/artistic changes?

More importantly, could he possibley do "repairs" on a pre-existing silver crest badge? Mine has a slight mis-spelling of the Gaelic motto that has always been an irritation.

Thanks,
Wesley

I'm going to answer your question by saying it likely depends on how much you want to spend. If you read about his production methods on our site, he actually casts the crest seperately from the strap and buckle. Then the two are soldered together. He does this for a variety of reasons, but one of them is because he can use the same strap and buckle design on all the badges.

So if you had a particular design you wanted for the strap and buckle, no doubt he would have to charge more, because he'd have to create a new mold just for you.

And about the repair work you, I'd have to ask. PM or email me if you'd like me to find out for you.

[Deil the Yin]

Thanks, Matt. I did read about his production methods on your site, and found his site, too. I figured he had to use the same cast for the belt and buckle to meet the price, and thus considerable "requirements" would necessitate substantial fees. Understandable, really.

Funny enough, this is the same silver smith that I bought my badge from about 15 years ago. The Gaelic misspelling notwithstanding, it's a really nice badge, and I've never thought about replacing it. I personally feel that the crest badge is seriously misrepresented, given its considerable symbolic meaning and the commercial marketing of the badges almost as trinkets. Just another twist in the knot of the Scottish traditional dress market...

I'm going to answer your question by saying it likely depends on how much you want to spend. If you read about his production methods on our site, he actually casts the crest seperately from the strap and buckle. Then the two are soldered together. He does this for a variety of reasons, but one of them is because he can use the same strap and buckle design on all the badges.

So if you had a particular design you wanted for the strap and buckle, no doubt he would have to charge more, because he'd have to create a new mold just for you.

And about the repair work you, I'd have to ask. PM or email me if you'd like me to find out for you.