The Wallace Collection

Back in June 2009 we set about working on a project with top London architects to gold plate approx 42 metres of stainless steel trim to be used on display cabinets at the new Wallace Museum shop in London.

The Wallace Collection is a national museum which displays breathtaking works of art collected in the 18th and 19th centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. It was given to the British nation by Sir Richard’s widow, Lady Wallace, in 1897 and first opened to the public as a museum on the 22nd of June 1900.

This world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries is displayed at Hertford House, the main London townhouse of its former owners.

The gold plated trim can be seen, in the images above and below, along the edge of the counter top resting on the beautiful pure gold leafed cabinet panels.

The gold plated stainless steel trim was also used on the reception desk, cloakroom counter, shop till, counter donation boxes and lobby donation boxes.

The stainless steel trim to be gold plated was delivered to us and completed in March 2010.

Why not have a great day out and visit the Wallace Collection.

Find out what’s happening at the Wallace Museum.

Browse the Wallace Museum shop.

We are flexible, adaptable and are able to electroplate single items of jewellery right up to large commercial projects so please do contact us for advice or a quotation.

Stobart Lesters Awards

We were recently asked, in conjunction with Code3Models, to carry out the gold, silver and bronze plating of six Eddie Stobart truck and trailer models for the ‘Stobart Lesters Awards 2012’. The six trophies were presented by Andrew Tinkler, Stobart Group’s chief executive officer, at a prestigious ceremony held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Thursday evening 5th April 2012.

A Lester Award is one of a range of awards given to jockeys at an annual ceremony in the UK. The awards are named in honour of Lester Piggott, who won thirty British Classic Races from 1954 to 1992. The awards recognise the achievements of jockeys from both flat and jump racing during the previous year.

The awards ceremony, celebrating the achievements of Jockeys from Britain and overseas, was hosted by At The Races presenters Luke Harvey and Jason Weaver and held in front of over 450 sporting stars, celebrities and guests.

The truck and trailer parts were zinc die cast (Mazak) which is a difficult alloy to electroplate often producing varying results. Our plating process enabled us to produce a finish fit for a prestigious award ceremony such as the Lesters.

Tony Graham, Code3Models:

“Thanks Scott for all your help, over and above the call of duty, models completed today. Will credit you to Andrew Tinkler’s PA re. electro plating, excellent back up service and professionalism in a tight spot.“

Bonnie Stephenson, PA to Chief Executive Officer Stobart Group:

“We especially liked the reflection of the jockey’s bums and the word Stobart in the shiny roof of the trailer.“

Rock Bottom – Pirate Booty!

A short while back, in fact quite a little longer than a short while back, we were asked to gold plate a one ounce silver doubloon replica coin. The doubloon was originally a Spanish coin which was used mid 16th to the mid 19th centuries. It was hand-struck from gold and is commonly referred to as a “gold piece”. The doubloon weighed approximately one ounce and was solid 22 karat gold.

The doubloon was also widely used in the West Indies and South America. Due to being made from almost pure gold the doubloon had value worldwide even where it wasn’t legal tender. Since much of the piracy that took place was between English and Spanish privateers, Spanish gold doubloons often formed English pirate booty.

The doubloon in the following video was actually 24 karat gold plated by us.

Amateur film maker, Robert Lorrimer made his short film “Rock Bottom” over two consecutive mornings at ‘Petit Bot Bay’ on the island of Guernsey armed with a Canon 7d DSLR, light weight tripod, a banana and a suitcase.

More details on this film clip can be found here: Rock Bottom.

If you would like a quotation or advice on an items suitability for gold plating please use our contact form.

Silver Plating

Silver plating is more often used for antique restoration of hollowware, including cups, bowls, vases & flatware such as trays, plates & dishes. We also electroplate many modern silver plated items where the plating has simply worn through, trophies & medals being most popular. We also receive requests to silver plate solid gold jewellery!

Silver plating is an action which deposits a thin layer of silver onto an electrically conductive surface. The surface, normally a conductive metal base, allows a current to be passed through it to form a complete circuit. The silver particles in the electrolyte solution then bond to the item being electroplated, the item being silver plated is also referred to as the cathode.

• The minimum thickness for silver plating is 0.5 microns. This is used for decorative purposes on items with minimal handling.
• Heavy silver plate would be 5+ microns. The normal thickness we apply would be between 5 – 10 microns dependent upon the item & its intended use. This provides a long lasting finish on items such as; antiques, wristwatches, clocks, buckles, trophies & jewellery.

Our silver plating solutions are tarnish resistant, hard wearing & long lasting. A thickness of just 5 microns is often more than adequate for the long term durability of most items if cared for properly.

Please take a look at the photos showing our work in the gallery.
If you would like an item silver plating or you have any questions please contact us.

Chrome Plating

The vast majority of our chrome plating work is basin taps, shower & bathroom fittings. These are often old & discontinued & it can be virtually impossible to find replacements to match the existing set. If you are lucky enough to locate replacements you’ll often find it can be more cost effective to have the old ones re-plated.

Chrome plating is the technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto an object. This decorative chrome layer provides outstanding corrosion resistance, as well as being easy to clean & care for. It is also a much cheaper final finish in comparison to precious metals such as gold & platinum.

Chrome is commonly applied to the following items:

• Lighting, interior & exterior
• Door handles & letterboxes
• Bathroom & shower fittings
• Toilet flush, chains & loo roll holders
• Interior & exterior car parts including plastic badges
• Motorcycle & scooter parts

An increasing amount of plastics are also chrome plated such as toilet push-button flushes, mobile phones & car parts. The chrome plating can be chemically stripped away revealing the underlying nickel which can then be electroplated in another finish such as gold or platinum.

All our work upon completion, whether it is in chrome or any other finish we offer, passes through our strict quality control checks before being returned to our customers. Rest assured our chrome plating really is the best chrome plating available. Items such as bathroom fittings, car & motorcycle parts in need of extensive restoration & refinishing could take anywhere from 7 – 14 days.

Please take a look at the photos showing our work in the gallery.
If you would like an item electroplating or you have any questions then please contact us.

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