I just received the below from Spencer Baum of Rio
Grande…
“Last week we reached an arrangement with Argentium where we can
bring an Argentium stamp to market. Before we can begin selling
the stamp, our manufacturer has to finish the tooling to mass
produce it and we have to approve a sample and receive our first
inventory shipment. All of that will take about 6 weeks if all
goes well. Pricing will be comparable to our other marking
stamps. I will email you as more details come together on this.
As of today, we aren’t yet ready to begin taking orders for the
stamp, but we should be ready soon.”
I will send another e-mail when Rio has the stamps on the shelves.
Best,
Jeffrey Herman, Founder & Executive Director
Society of American Silversmiths
This message was e-mailed to the Orchid group on May 27, 2009:
Before we can begin selling the stamp, our manufacturer has to
finish the tooling to mass produce it and we have to approve a
sample and receive our first inventory shipment. All of that will
take about 6 weeks if all goes well. Pricing will be comparable
to our other marking stamps. I will email you as more details
come together on this. As of today, we aren't yet ready to begin
taking orders for the stamp, but we should be ready soon.
As of today (July 12, 2009), I have not heard from Spencer Baum
regarding Argentium stamps being available. I have sent him another
inquiry.
Regarding the Argentium steel stamps, Spencer Baum from Rio Grande
provided the following update:
We've had some trouble making the mark small enough to be a clear
stamp at the needed sizes, which has put us behind. Our first
attempts were not suitable to take to market. Argentium's
preference is for the Pegasus logo to be the official stamp.
We're working closely with them to make a stamp that will be a
clear, recognizable mark at the needed sizes for stamping. We've
had to tinker with the logo and are experimenting with some
different ways of manufacturing the stamp. The trick is that
manufacturing methods that allow for the most affordable stamp
are also those that have greater limits on the detail we can use
on the stamp. I will let you know when we've resolved this and
can quote to you a more precise date to market. As of today, I'm
not certain. Once we receive a sample of the stamp that will
work, we'll need 3-4 weeks from that time before we'll be ready
to start selling it.
Have a wonderful week,