Make your own fingerprint jewelry in real 99.9% fine silver, at home, in one afternoon. Press a fingerprint or thumbprint into soft silver clay, fire it with a small torch and polish it: the print stays in the metal for good. No jeweller, no workshop, no kiln, and no sending a print off by post and waiting weeks.
Shop the Silver Clay Starter Kit · Try the Mini Kit
How a DIY fingerprint necklace or ring works
- Take the print. Roll the silver clay to an even thickness, then press a clean, dry finger straight down once and lift straight up. Not happy? Re-roll and try again: the clay is completely forgiving at this stage.
- Shape and dry. Cut a heart, circle or tag around the print, make the hanging hole while the clay is soft, and let it dry completely.
- Fire it with the torch. The binder burns away and the silver fuses into solid 99.9% fine silver, with the fingerprint in it. It shrinks about 8 to 10%, which makes the ridges look crisper.
- Polish. Brush and polish the flat surface and leave the ridges slightly darker, so the print is readable at a glance.
Step-by-step guides with tips: how to make a fingerprint necklace and how to make a fingerprint ring.
Which kit do you need?
- Silver Clay Starter Kit with Torch: 10 g of 99.9% fine silver clay, a torch, a ring mandrel, tools, stones and instructions. Enough for a fingerprint ring plus a small charm, or two pendants. The right choice if you want to make a ring.
- Mini Silver Clay Kit with Torch: 5 g of silver clay, a mini torch (butane not included), firebrick, brush and polishing kit. Ideal for a single fingerprint pendant or charm.
- Already have tools? Buy fine silver clay on its own in 5, 7, 10 or 20 g packs.
Fingerprint jewelry ideas
- Memorial pendant with the print of someone you love. See our guide to keepsake jewelry.
- Baby or child's thumbprint charm for a parent or grandparent.
- Couple's rings or pendants with each other's fingerprint.
- A gift you made yourself, for Mother's Day, an anniversary or a birthday.
Why make it yourself?
Ready-made fingerprint jewelry usually means sending an ink print to a workshop and waiting while someone else makes it. Making it yourself means the real impression, pressed straight into the silver, and the piece is finished the same day. It is also real silver all the way through: not plated and not engraved from a scan.
Frequently asked questions
Is it real silver? Yes. After firing, silver clay is 99.9% fine silver, purer than sterling silver. Here is why.
Can children join in? Yes. Children can press their thumbprint into the clay and help shape it; an adult should do the torch firing.
Do I need a kiln? No. A fingerprint pendant or ring is small enough to fire with the torch included in both kits.
How long does it take? Most people finish a first piece in an afternoon: shaping takes minutes, drying a few hours (or less with a hairdryer), and firing a few minutes.
Will the fingerprint stay visible? Yes. The print is part of the metal. Keeping the ridges slightly darker than the polished surface keeps it easy to read.
Everything else about the material is on our silver clay page.
