MEMORIAL FINGERPRINT & ASHES JEWELLERY. IN LOVING MEMORY

More than Memories - Fingerprints and Ashes

At Sophia Alexander, we understand that losing a loved one can be the most impossibly difficult and emotional time.We also know that deciding how you will remember a lost loved one is an incredibly personal decision.

Our range of custom gold fingerprint charms, necklaces, rings and personalised memorial keepsakes offer a unique and poignant way to remember your special someone and to help with the grieving process.

Our pieces are designed to be worn daily or stored safely away.  Whatever you choose.







We can help you to take new fingerprint, handprint or footprint impressions, or we can work with any existing prints you might have.

We are also able to carefully set your loved ones cremation ashes behind beautiful diamonds or capture them behind hand-cut gold hearts so that you can carry a little piece of them with you always.     

Standing the Test of Time

In over 18 years, we have worked with many clients, to help design and create beautiful, personal memorials to loved ones who are born sleeping, terminally ill or sadly no longer with us.

We work closely with our clients, taking the time to carefully guide them through the process, ensuring the experience is as straightforward as possible.

We will endeavour to meet any personal design requests. Please get in touch if you would like a small amount of ashes added to your piece.  We will discuss how this can be achieved. 


 

Made not Manufactured

All gold and silver memorial fingerprint keepsakes are handmade in Kedington, Suffolk, UK by specialist craftsmen using traditional tools and techniques.  They are cast in solid gold and silver and struck with a British Hallmark.

Many can be personalised further with hand engraved names, messages or special dates, or you can choose to add diamonds & birthstones.

We are honoured that our clients entrust us with this very special service.  To create something that will be truly cherished.

Every item is made to the highest possible quality.  A permanent, everlasting reminder to be held close to your heart forever.

Taking your Fingerprints, Handprints or Footprints

We find that very often, fingerprints, hand prints and footprint impressions have already been taken whilst your loved one has been in hospital, hospice care or whilst at the funeral home, but there is not a problem if this is not the case.

We can send you a simple impression kit or we can work with your own prints.  We will send this urgently if required. 

There are a number of ways to take your prints, so please don’t hesitate to contact us for further help and advice to capture your fingerprints.

If you would prefer for us to liaise with your hospice or funeral home on your behalf, please get in touch.

Different Types of Fingerprint

 The vast majority of fingerprints shown on the website are cast.

This means that we take a fingerprint directly from a person's finger using silicone impression material.  The silicone creates a perfect three-dimensional replica of the persons fingertip.

We then press the fingerprint into a sheet of wax and gently carve around it to create the shape of the necklace or charm.

The wax master is then cast in gold or silver so that the final piece of jewellery looks as though the person has pressed their finger into the surface of the chosen precious metal.

 
Engraved fingerprint jewellery is a little different..... 

It is made using an ink fingerprint, rather than the three-dimensional mould.

As ink fingerprints are flat, to give them a more three-dimensional appearance, we make a small dimple in the surface of a sheet of wax.

Once cast in gold or silver, our hand-engravers then engrave the fingerprint into the dimple. 

Hand-Engraving vs Machine

Hand-engraving is a specialist heritage craft that involves the embellishment of gold, silver and platinum using traditional tools - and an untold amount of time and patience. 

All of the fingerprints and thumbprints engraved onto our necklaces and charms are hand-engraved by real artisan craftspeople with decades of experience within the trade.

Each piece is a labour of love with every line being deeply and painstakenly cut from the surface of the precious metal using precision tools called gravers.

Machine engraving or, mechanical engraving is very different.
Designs are created digitally.  They are then translated into instructions for the machine to follow and the process is completed using automated equipment. The machine typically uses a spinning cutter or laser to engrave the desired pattern onto the surface.

It is more generally used for large-scale production.

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU ENGRAVE?

Our hand-engravers are immensely talented.

In addition to fingerprints and thumbprints, they are also able to engrave everything from our customer's handwriting and signatures, to heartbeats, footprints, heartbeats, and even star sign constellations. 

We are frequently asked to engrave handwriting from the inside of sentimental gift cards and signatures from the bottoms of letters but if you have something different that you would love, just let us know and we'll do our best to help. 

In most cases, we care able to enhance old or faded handwriting with the latest photo editing software where needed. 

More than Necklaces and Pendants

In addition to our charms and necklaces, we are also able to create a wide range of stunning bespoke memorial rings. 

All our fingerprint memorial rings are hand-engraved and truly exceptional. 

They are completely customisable in solid 9ct Gold, 18ct Gold, Platinum and Titanium.

We can add diamonds, gemstones and engrave almost anything you like, from your loved ones fingerprint, to a personal handwritten message, a special date or even an image.

We also offer a bespoke commissions service, so, if you can't choose from any of our existing collections or, if you have your own ideas that you'd love to bring to life, we can work alongside you to help you to transform your vision into reality.

Handprint and Foortprint Memorials for Babies and Children

"A man who loses his wife is known as a widower; a woman who loses her husband is a widow and a child who loses their parents is an orphan but there is no universally recognised word for a parent who loses a child.

That's how truly terrible it really is".  ANON.

The loss of a baby or child, at any age, is one of the most painful and traumatic experiences a Mother or Father will ever go through.

For 18 years, we have worked quietly and gently by their sides, crafting loving, timeless pieces with the utmost care and detail, to honour precious little ones lost.    

Our pieces are designed to offer solace and comfort, allowing you to carry your child's memory with you wherever you go.

As babies under 10 months old rarely have clear, defined fingerprints, many of our clients choose to capture their handprints and footprints instead. 

We are perfectly happy to work from clear photographs or scans of your prints, so you never have to part with your precious originals. 

The overwhelming shock, pain and grief experienced by many of the parents we work with is beyond words and for that reason we encourage all of our clients to take all the time in the world to create something perfect that they will cherish forever. 

Adding Your Cremation Ashes

Adding ashes to the necklace or charm of your choice is a delicate task.

Your precious ashes will always be treated with the upmost care and respect.

All of our pieces are made to be approximately 2mm thick, which means we are able to create a space within them that is large enough to safely contain a tiny amount of ashes.  

We are able to add them to your piece of jewellery in two different ways:  

1.  The first way is to make a tiny hollow space in the surface of the gold or silver.  This is usually made on the back of the necklace.

Once the chamber is made, we gently place a tiny amount of your ashes inside.  They are then sealed in place with a gold heart, as seen here.

We are able to add both white or yellow gold hearts to either match the colour of your necklace or contrast.   

The second way is to seal a tiny amount of your ashes behind a beautiful sparkling diamond or a coloured diamond of your choice. 

Please feel free to get in touch if you are unsure.  

Guided Printing Service

If your loved one is local to our studio in Kedington, Suffolk, UK and your hospice or funeral home needs help with taking fingerprints, handprints or footprints, we are more than happy to personally oversee and assist with the printing process to ensure you get the best prints possible.

Kedington is a small village halfway between the towns of Clare and Haverhill in South-West Suffolk.  We usually work within a 10 mile radius, but have previously provided assistance to customers as far afield as Linton, Newmarket, Sudbury and Saffron Walden.  

Let us know if you would like us to help.

Thank you for considering us.