Actually, this is very true… In our case, we always return master
models /production models upon request. Molds… it makes far more
sense for the caster to have them in their posession , this way, you
simply need to email an order or call it in … this saves a lot of
time ( mailing molds back and forth) and saves shipping costs…
particularly in silver when you are only ordering 1 to a few dozen
pieces… you don’t want to be adding more to your costs than you
already are ??? When we have a new customer, the first thing we do
is assign them a customer designation Example: my company is Racecar
Jewelry Co. …My designation is RJC then , all molds made have a
number assigned to them such as RJC 1 ---- through 1000+ .
You might be customer CBS for Charles Belle Studio and each item you
send a model to us for mold making , it will have CNS + number
assigned and permanently embossed with a special machine we
developed for doing exactly this process. Now, the number can never
be removed … Most casters are no where near as sophisticated…
usually, when you get a mold back from a casting company, it’s got
all kinds of writting on it , Rarely an identification number and
this is why many people have problems dealing with casting
companies… they have to fax pictures of their items to casters so
they can try to identify the design by searching through tons of
molds either in a customers box if you are lucky …or they are
scattered throughout there shop haphazardly. I have personally seen
this when I was on the road as a consultant . You know this is
happening when you call your caster and he says he has to call you
back once he finds the molds you are looking for !!! We have
successfully eliminated this problem with our number/tracking
system. We have many customers with over 300 items that are done by
us, so this is a very important part of any operation. We spend No
time looking for molds As every customer has a storage area for
their molds with a numbering system on the storage area as well
.Many customers leave their models with us also and these are locked
in a safe area in a box with their numbers and name assigned to
that box. We return models and molds to customers anytime they
request it… However, with the customers who tend to run large
orders through us, they usually prefer for us to keep the
molds/models as we may have up to 10 molds of 1 style… Usually the
customer starts with a small order,then they start ordering hundreds
… in this case, we need to make additonal molds very quickly as
large runs through us are completed within 3 weeks . The more molds
you have of a particular style, the quicker the order can be
produced.This becomes even more critical if the item is thick / heavy
or difficult to wax… once the injection sytems are set up for that
mold, you don’t want to have to adjust your waxpot injection
pressures as this will slow you down considerably… so more molds
will produce more and better waxes per hour… In this case, it is
important for a caster to keep models until all molds are made. So,
yes, a reliable , good caster should return your models and molds
when the customer asks for them to be returned either with their
order or at anytime that they are requested… But sometimes a good
caster may need to keep them for a while due to the above mentioned
process or may need to ask to have the models back for more molds to
be made. This, Should not be considered " hedging" ( or , in better
words … not willing to return them).
We have also seen the case where a customer does want all molds
models returned which we do immediately and the next time they want
to order something, they can’t find it in their own studio because
they are not used to organizing and tracking things like this. We
have also been in a situation where a mold wore out and we requested
the models back and the customer told us that he did not have it
anymore because he sold it as a finished piece !!!
So my advice is … find a good caster you can trust, who is also
organized and responsive to your needs as a jeweler or designer.
We do casting, finishing, mold making, model making,cnc/cadcam
stamping, badges, emblematic jewelry , enameling,soldering fusion, in
gold, silver, bronze/brass, and pewter for people in the trade.
Please contact us off list at sales@racecarjewelry.com
We are an orchid advertiser and I believe it is important that all
businesses that offer a service contact Dr Hanuman for advertising
rates… this will help the orchid funds greatly and it will improve
your business and reputation as it has done to our company. Thank you
Dr Hanuman and all my orchid customers. Best wishes to all Daniel
Grandi