The fact of being highly specialized in true gold & silversmith’s techniques and our heritage in handling all sorts of artistic jobs in precious metals gives us an extra edge when entrusted with your custom commission.
Our skilled team of designers will develop a quality pencil drawing which will serve our experienced silversmiths to execute your exclusive piece by hand, forging and giving shape to the metals.
The built piece will then follow a long process in which meticulous hand polishing, stone & enamel panel setting and a rich plating are carefully carried out to ensure first class quality standards.
Of all the many custom articles we have hand crafted throughout our history, perhaps the one we are most proud of is the “Botafumeiro”, the world’s biggest censor, housed inside the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
The original Botafumeiro, hand wrought in sterling silver on the XV Century was stolen from Spain during the French Invasion at the beginning of the 19th century and molten into silver coins.
A new Botafumeiro was built in 1851 by the Spanish silversmith José Losada, in brass, finished in silver plate to match with the original.
In 1971, a further Botafumeiro was entrusted to us, a faithful replica of the XV Century original, hand crafted in solid sterling silver. It was completed and delivered personally by Luis Molina Acedo in the record time of one month.
This Botafumeiro is used regularly, alternating with the original bronze one from 1851, flying majestically along the main nave of the Cathedral and spreading the pleasant smell of incense over the thousands of impressed pilgrims.
This magnificent ambry was commissioned to us back in Easter 2009. Specially developed by Maxwell-Pierce Architects, it was thoroughly handcrafted in brass by our craftsmen to match with the tabernacle and Evangelarium supplied by us previously to St. Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast. Peter (Belfast).
With a colossal height of over 270 cm. and a massive amount of solid brass employed in its construction , this ambry has been one of the most difficult pieces we have ever worked on. Due to its dimensions and type of construction, it has been one of the most complex pieces we have worked on.
Besides the fine machining carried out on its columns and the heavy duty construction carried out on the base, the most difficult task on this ambry was the making of the framework that holds the multiple bevelled pieces of glass, required to display the three oil stocks housed inside.
After building up the piece, every component was taken apart and polished carefully before applying a durable layer of oven baked lacquer to assure an impeccable finish for many years to come. The result achieved speaks for itself and we hope it will serve as an example of the degree of quality and attention to detail employed when crafting any of our custom creations.
Our custom orders department worked endessly for around three months together with our customer St. Jude Liturgical Arts and we managed to build it from scratch parting from sheets of brass, making sure that it was a faithful representation of the original drawings.
Slowly, the metals were worked on with the expert hands of our master craftsmen, conforming them to the necessary shape and specifications. Specially laborious were the oval shaped dome and the delicately embossed door panel depicting the Agnus Dei.
The finished product looks superb sitting majestically on the main Altar of the Cathedral and is a faithful example of our cappability to handle, from beggining to end, all kinds of custom projects achieving only the highest craftmanship and the most demanding quality standards.
This custom handcrafted monstrance, entirely hand crafted in sterling silver dedicated to Our Lady of Medjugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina) reaches a total height over 5 feet and it was constructed using several different techniques such as embossing, engraving and fire enamelling, this piece belongs to a class of its own. All these characteristics make this piece a unique custody.
Commissioned for the Cathedral of Santa Maria la Antigua in Panama upon request of Santarrufina, our distributor from Madrid. The design is a replica of the main façade of the Cathedral, finished in goldplate and silverplate (two tone) and measuring 25-1/2” in height x 24-1/4” in width and 14-1/2” in depth.
The Catholic University is a project we are particularly proud of.
Ave Maria Catholic University is the Unites States’ most prominent Catholic University to have been built in the last 100 years and the tabernacle to reside in its magnificent Shrine should be only worthy of this condition.
With more than 250 lbs. of the best available metals used in its manufacture to reach massive overall dimensions of 63” wide x 47 tall. Thoroughly handcrafted construction in solid, perfectly polished, gold plated brass including impeccably finished royal blue fire enamel over hand wrought criss-cross panels and other features such as twelve individually set rare tanzanite stones.
Another remarkable feature are the twelve tanzanites that were individually mounted at different points of the tabernacle. This tabernacle boasts the same level of expertise as the best silversmith’s creations from yesteryear which we make available to you in the XXI Century.
Tradition, Beauty and Excellence where always priorities when designing these pieces in collaboration with our distributor Baker Liturgical Arts creating a simplified version of one of Christianity’s most important pieces: The Carlo Magno chalice (Carlo Magno was appointed in 774 A.D. protector of Rome by Pope Adrian I).
The cup bears two fire enamel medallions depicting the Pope’s coat of arms and Archbishop Wuerl’s coat of arms. The base shows another six fire enamelled medallions among which the Washington, D.C. Diocesan Cross stands out in front. The base is ultimately adorned with Pope Benedict’s two mottos: Spe Salvi : Deus Caritas Est.
This delicate set was created under special request from our distributor Santarrufina, S.L. and it has proven once again the sheer capacity of our workshop to manufacture unique works of art for the Catholic Liturgy.
All pieces were executed entirely in sterling silver with 24 karat goldplating. They were embossed and chiselled by hand with a rich floral motif, featuring in the cups the images of the Four Evangelists. The bases were adorned with four fire enamelled medallions depicting the coats of arms for His Holiness Benedict XVI, His Eminence Cardinal Rouco Varela, the Holy See and the Diocese of Madrid.
