Brett Sherwood Magic - The Brett Sherwood Cups

<body> <p> A Selection of Questions and Answers 1. How can I purchase a set of your cups in England? There are several ways available to buy my cups. You can telephone England on +44 (1256) 354-178 (within the UK telephone 01256 354178) and leave your order by voice mail. Required is only your Visa or Master Card number, expiry date, last three numbers on the reverse side of your credit card on the signature strip. Your full name on your card together with the full address, phone number and email in case you need to be contacted. This information can also be emailed if you like. I have also received one person's entire information on two different emails. Alternatively for your convenience, if you have access to a fax machine simply print out the blank order form on this website or leave your fax number at the number above and we will fax you a blank order form which you can fill in and then fax back. If you are a PayPal member click the 'buy it now' link and you can purchase my cups instantly on my website link. Hope this gives you an assortment of ways to best place your order. Finally, bankers money order in US dollars can be sent to the address on this web site, but please email first to include the relevant shipping and insurance costs. 2. How much is shipping and insurance to the USA? It costs about $75 to ship one complete set of cups to the USA from England by a 1-5 day service depending on where you live in the USA. 3. What are the cups made from and how are they made? The cups are made from a solid disk of silver, which is expertly hand spun. There are no additional parts. After the cups are spun the bottom bead (ring at mouth of cup) is rolled against the side of the cup. Two swage rings are then also spun into the cups using a different principal and finally the cups are meticulously hand engraved, etched with a limited edition number, punched with the Brett Sherwood stamp inside the top of each cup, hallmarked with a .925 stamp and finally given a beautiful polish. Check out James Riser's web site it may just inspire you as to just how much work is required to make one sets of hand made cups! 4. Is the gold real gold? Yes, the gold plating or 'wash' is real gold and is applied over the cup after it has been engraved. 5. How would you compare your cups to other cups on the market? You may think my comments a little bias, so let someone with expert knowledge answer your question. Please check out James Riser's web page which is all about what makes a good set of cups with lots of comparisons and many styles of different cups: www.jamesriser.com 6. Will you be adhering to the limited editions? I am contracted with the Dai Vernon Estate not to exceed the numbers of the agreed engraved cups. Therefore no more that 1400 total sets of engraved cups will be produced. First time available in history and the last. 7. What is the availability, measurements and what finish do the cups have? There are different finishes on my web site. i.e. All gold plated silver (inside of cup is gold plated and all cups have a "BS" [Brett Sherwood] quality stamp in the inside top along with a limited edition number etched inside and a silver hallmark as well) $1275, Silver & Gold plating (gold plated inside cup) $1125, All Silver Set $995. I have a small supply of cups currently in stock, but because of the high production costs required for silver items and the work intensive detail required I can only order in limited amounts at a time. I anticipate minor delays in the supply line, but I am determined to do my utmost to keep the production line rolling over without delay. Finally, the sizes of my cups are; height 7cm, mouth diameter 6.8cm, top diameter 4.7, and depth 6.7cm. 8. Have you had any problems using credit card for international transactions? Yes, prior to using your credit card for purchasing my cups please contact your credit card company (Visa/ Master Card) and tell them not to block the withdrawal from out of the country. This has happened several times. This is why it is important to leave your email when ordering in case of any unexpected problem arises with your order and will be less expensive to reply. 9. It says on the Riser site that every engraving is different? Yes, each "style" of cup has completely different engravings i.e. the all gold cups are all the same, but they have completely different engraved patterns to the all silver sets and the silver/gold sets etc. Check out the various detailed photos on my web site for clarification. As they say "a picture is worth a thousand words". 10. Are your cups hand made or made using a computer? Yes, all my cups are entirely hand made. They are masterfully spun by hand then these intricate designs are engraved onto my cups by hand. It takes one master engraver about a day to complete one cup. I have always preferred hand spun and hand engraved cups to the new CNC (turned or lathed out of a solid block of brass or copper etc) computer cups being made more recently. These CNC cups seem to me to be somehow 'artificially' too perfect - like clones - where is the beauty and art in this? They are all exactly the same, but in contrast there is art and talent required in making my hand made cups and this gives me a sense of pride performing sleight-of-hand with these objects constructed by talented hands themselves. Those of you who have had the opportunity to hold my cups will understand what I am talking about. I have been told they simply "feel" perfect. How can one deeply admire the superficial aspect of a computer-generated cup? I like to use a snowflake analogy about my cups, because at first appearance a set of my cups will appear 'all-alike' - like snowflakes appear alike - but with closer inspection you soon realize that they are all somehow individually unique and I think this is both wonderful and profound. 11. Because your cups are expensive I am worried about using them. Do they dent easily and or wear well? I can understand your concern, because of the investment required, but as I mention on my cup web page that my cups were made for much more than admiring on your shelf at home. What I meant by this is that if you do not use your cups - you will cheat yourself and everyone else from the joy of using your cups. Instead of leaving your set at home on the shelf, remember they were specifically designed as "working" cups in a close-up situation where they can be fully admired. My cups are very ornamental, but they are not fragile. I specifically did not want a thin walled cheap tin sounding cup. My cups were intentionally made on the heavy end at approximately six ounces of solid sterling silver in each cup. Therefore they are substantial in weight and they 'feel' safer than one would expect from their fragile appearing exterior. I have been using a set of my own cups for over six months and they only have normal wear marks that all cups will incur and no dents even though I use a wand to tap and turn-over the cups, but I do not go crazy smashing them together or hitting hammering them with my wand etc. The thinnest part of my cups is on the bead/swage (rings), at the base and around the middle of the cup. The thick bag provided will help protect them in transit. 12. What designing details make your cups original other then beautiful exterior work? The internal and external design and dimensions are original to myself. My cups were specially designed with a stepped outer beading/swages (rings) shaped to help eliminate accidentally toppling during the course of one's routine and the approximate six ounces aids in this as well. They are actually difficult to accidentally knock over, but can easily be pulled over backwards with a wand. By gripping the cup with the 2nd finger (and the thumb opposite), between the two center rings, one will notice that the third finger rests comfortably on the bottom bead. This position will automatically position the little finger in an ideal position for any unseen stealthy activity underneath the cup's edge -"like-a-glove". The largest bottom base bead (ring) facilitates catching a cup during the standard cup through cup drop-through illusion. If desired the cups are also designed to accomplish the backward "roll-over" flourish beautifully. Inside the cup's mouth please note the .925 sterling hallmark. Opposite the hallmark please note the limited edition serial number. Inside the top of each cup can be seen my quality stamp Brett Sherwood (BS) logo. When in the stacked position, please note that my professional tooling has eliminated any excess wobbling and each cup stops nicely on top of the lower partner's upper swage (ring). My cups were also designed to intentionally stack "higher-up" than any traditional cup. In a stacked condition, this allows a greater cavity space and this void space will comfortably contain three 1 1?" balls while in the stacked position. For more details on selecting a cup visit www.jamesriser.com. All will remain nicely balanced on the lower cup when uncovered for a beautiful display. For even greater visibility the use of larger manipulation balls can be utilized up to an amazing 1?" (photo below). My cups were also intentionally designed to easily accommodate a regulation size tennis ball as an amazing final load. 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