The policy, in full.

Why this page exists

A great deal of our work concerns objects whose existence is not public: an armorial ring for a family that does not discuss its holdings, a covert accession mark on an object still under negotiation, a caseback commissioned as a gift that has not yet been given.

In every one of those cases the value of the work depends on nobody knowing about it. So confidentiality here is not a courtesy extended to sensitive clients. It is the default operating condition for every commission, including the ordinary ones.

Non-disclosure

A mutual non-disclosure agreement is signed before any commission begins, without being asked for. It covers the existence of the commission, its contents, the identity of the client, and any information disclosed in the course of the work.

It is mutual because the obligation runs both ways, and because a one-sided agreement tends to be treated as a formality by the party it does not bind. Clients are welcome to substitute their own instrument; the studio will sign a reasonable one without negotiation.

No names, no portfolio

The studio does not publish client names. Not on a website, not in a case study, not in conversation with another client, and not after the relationship ends.

There is no gallery of identifiable client work anywhere, and there never will be. The images on this site are of studio tools, sample cuts, and pieces made for the studio's own reference. No commissioned work appears here.

This has a real cost. It means we cannot demonstrate the strongest things we have made, and it means new clients have to take a great deal on trust or on a referral. We accept that trade willingly, and it is the main reason we work by referral at all.

Handling and premises

Pieces are logged on arrival, photographed for condition, and held in a safe when not on the bench. Only the engraver handles client property. Nothing is left out overnight, and nothing is worked on in view of another client.

There is no shop front and no sign. Appointments are staggered so that two clients do not overlap on the premises.

Correspondence and packaging

Outbound packaging is plain. No studio name, no logo, no return address that identifies the trade, and no description of contents beyond what a courier legally requires. Documentation travels separately from the piece.

Correspondence is by encrypted email or telephone, at the client's preference. We will not message you about a commission on any platform where the notification preview would sit on a lock screen in front of somebody else.

Records

Working records, drawings and photographs are destroyed at handover unless the client asks us to retain them, in which case they are held encrypted and released only to the client.

For collection marking we keep no register of what we have marked or where the marks are placed. Location records go to the client and to nobody else, including us.

What we will not do

We will not alter, remove or reproduce a hallmark, proof mark, assay mark or serial number in any way intended to misrepresent a piece's origin, age or maker. This is not negotiable and it does not depend on who is asking.

We will not engrave a mark designed to imitate another maker's identity. We will not work on an object whose provenance the client is unwilling to speak about at all. Discretion protects clients; it does not launder objects.

Where we decline, we say so once, plainly, and we say nothing about it to anyone afterwards.