These tumbler cups are handmade sterling silver and gold plated inside. They are weighted at the base so they rock but do not fall over. They are made from heavy gauge, hallmarked sterling silver and produced in our Brentwood workshop.

For those interested in how we make our tumbler cups, the process is the same for all 3 sizes. First they must all have the unique feature that all tumbler cups have and that is when pulled over on to their sides, they must right themselves without assistance i.e; they must tumble. This is the origin of the modern day tumbler. To do this they must have more weight in the base than the sides. We take an over thick silver disc (1.3mm) and use the 'spinning' method. This is a way of constructing round, hollow objects from sheet metal, in this case silver. Although ancient this method is still suitable today for small production runs. The machine used is a spinning lathe which has a former (of the object to be made) screwed onto the head stock mandrill. It is made of wood for one off designs and brass for longer product runs through to hardened steel for even longer production runs.

A metal blank (in this case silver) is clamped to the former chuck and while it is spinning the metal disc is forced/wrapped onto the chuck using a polished steel burnisher. The burnisher is fitted onto a long wooden handle which is held in the armpit of the craftsman, who uses his body weight to push the metal. The metal then tries to buckle as it is brought from the flat plane to become a hollow object and it is the skill of the 'spinner' or silversmith to stop this happening.

Once the cup has been formed, it is short of its finished height. The craftsman pushes hard with the spinning tool using longitudinal strokes. This thins and stretches the sides, increasing the height and altering the weight distribution making the sides lighter than the base. It will now right itself from a horizontal position. Due to this stretching and thinning the sides now have unsightly furrows. These must be 'planished' or levelled out with the flat side of the spinning tool but first, owing to severe work hardening the cup, will have to be 'annealed' i.e. made red hot to soften the metal. This will enable the levelling to happen. Next, the top edge will need to be trimmed to final height and levelled. At this stage the cup is pre polished to remove any scratches from the spinning process.

At this stage, the article is punched with the makers mark, JAC in a triangle, the initials of John Campbell. It is then taken to the London Assay Office to be scraped and tested. Once a positive result has been received from the laboratory confirming that the article has been made with metal at least 92.5% pure silver, the remaining hallmarks are punched into the surface. This independent hallmarking process began in the 1400s and is one of the world's oldest and most secure forms of consumer protection.

Upon arrival back at our workshop, the hallmarks are inspected and 'set'. This is to remove the dents put in by the mark punching process. Following this the JA Campbell name punch is applied to the base and the polishing process begins. Firstly using coarse compound on the inside and outside, moving up to medium and finally a fine compound until the high polish associated with silver is achieved. Four grades are used and around 20 different operations employed. The cups are then ultrasonically cleaned to remove compound residues from all the crevices and the inside is gold plated. They are then placed into fitted presentation cases for dispatch.

Since the reign of Charles II, circa 1660, they have been very popular drinking cups. They have often been used in travelling sets, in canteens and before that on board ships, as they rock but do not fall over. This is where the modern glass 'tumbler'( which doesn't tumble) gets its name from. It is quite an interesting sight to see and hear a waiter carrying a tray full of these silver tumbler cups and to listen to them chinking against each other.

The silver tumbler cups are part of the JA Campbell 'Classic' collection. They are ideally suited for engraving with names, a date or a message of your choice to personalize the silver gift.

There are 3 sizes available, small, medium and large.

You can be assured that all JA Campbell products are made up to a standard, and not down to a price.

Price is for 1 tumbler cup.