If you want something done right...do it yourself.

[Dat Nguyen]

Greeting to all,

I was looking at an Order of Labor Glory 1st Class on ebay #320188478689 and the Italian guy selling lives in the same town I work. So I decided to meet up with this guy and sure enough he shows up to meet me at lunch today.

Apparently, this guy actually produced this order himself...well, actually with the help of a couple of his friends. I examine the Order and it is very nicely made. The 'enamel' in not glass, but it was done very nicely. Very good quality space filler. I saw a 1st and 2nd class. He can engrave any serial number that you want. He didn't like the quality of the fakes/reproductions that he was seeing so he made one himself.

Although the quality is good, there is no problem identifying it as a reproduction. He states from the beginning that the item is a reproduction. I have asked him to join this forum to share his production knowledge....keep in mind that English is his second language.

v/r
Dat

[Lapa]

Dat,

I remember seeing a few bits and pieces of his production, especially and ORBL. Nice work!

Marc

[ibaya]

Although I agree that the piece would not be mistaken for the genuine article, I'd think it would have been a good idea for the piece to incorporate an identifier that it is explicity a reproduction, especially since a mint mark is included. Something simple as the word "mulyazh", possibly located beneath the mint mark, or below where the serial number is usually placed.

[lampone4]

Thank you to Dat for the introduction. He said to me to tell my esperience on the forum.
I am the "italian guy" which Dat has spoken about and I'm a collector of soviet Orders not a professional seller.
In my collection I have almost all the order, some original the other are copies.
In the last times, the price of the original orders was increasing and was increasing the probability to buy a fake.
I think that a copy must have the dignity of a copy, that is to represent a historical period. It must be nice and at low price.
What important is, is that the copy is sold as replica and to be identifyable as copy.

So I was looking for good copies, but when I encountered Labor Glory replicas, these was very ugly at high price.
So it was born the idea to produce myself some orders. The first is Labor Glory, an order I like particularly.
I have had big problems to find ribbon and suspension and to make moulds, casting, gilding, enamelling.
The first choice was to use glass enamelling, because I have a friend that is master of enamelling. He restores antique jewels and other precious items.
But glass enamel requires that the quality of the silver casting must be very good and today it is important to produce quick and in quantity, non with quality. So I have to use plastic enamel.
The particularity is that the sickle & hammer symbol is separated from the body like the original 1st and 2nd class and 3rd class type 1. Not faked rivets, but a real separated symbol.
To distinguish my order from an original is easy, I don't make "wearing signs" or other tecniques, only the burnishing on silver where isn't gilded and between the ears to give "depth" to the order.
The ribbon is new, not olded. I sell it as copy indeed.

I use also LG to finance a project where I'm working from more than 2 years: the Order of Victory.
This was my original target, a good quality copy of this order. But the project is expensive.
Today I'm at the end, and in 2-3 months I will have a copy of excellet quality.

My frustration is due to the crisis on jewel market in which lives my town today. The town is a jewel producer, and have the most important jewels fair on the world.
So there is a lot of craftmen that work around gold and silver. But, due to the crisis and to my very little amount of production, I have to wait weeks or months to have what I want.
Very frustrating.

After the above orders, I think to produce the Service to Homeland (the "crabs": the copies I have found are too thick and inaccurate) and the Order of Glory.

Thank you to who had read my presentation.

[desantnik]

Welcome and thank you for telling us about your masterful, beautiful copies.

Could you show a picture of the reverse?

Do you indicate somehow on the pieces that they are indeed copies?

[HuliganRS]

That right there is some quality work!

I'd be more than happy to purchase some of those copies in silver with cold enamel on them to fill some holes...

[matteti]

Hello lampone4,
Judging by your samples, you seem a remarkable artist. But I am a bit worrying that some people might buy your items and try to pass them as real to non careful buyers.

If you engrave any serial number at back and if there are no clearly distinguishing sign that order is a copy, then it can easily become a fake and not a reproduction any more.

Unless the difference is clearly visible when holding in our hands... but the photos you posted looks pretty good.

[lampone4]

Here are the rear sides.

I don't exclude that for the future i will use glass enamel, but the process is difficult.

I though to engrave a sign like my initials (CN), for example up, near the ring.
What dou you think about?

[desantnik]

Originally Posted by lampone4

I though to engrave a sign like my initials (CN), for example up, near the ring.
What dou you think about?

Yes, I would encourage you to do something like that.

Who knows, your copies may some day become just as collectible as the real things. This has happened for skillfully done Roman coin forgeries made in the Renaissance!

[ibaya]

I'd suggest something a little more prominent ... if nothing else, to avoid the ire of the Russian government