Often, we receive queries from customers asking, ‘Do babies have fingerprints? ‘ and ‘How do I get a good fingerprint for my baby?‘

Believe it or not, fingerprint jewellery can be made for babies prints from birth. The key is the technique.

Fingerprints begin developing in utero and, by the time the baby is born, fingerprints are visible on the baby’s hands. They are very, very fine so capturing the tiny details can be quite challenging.

Precious Hearts uses forensic-grade fingerprint strips to capture the best possible detail from these prints.

Paired with our state-of-the-art image-editing software, the detail will be clearly visible in the finished engraved piece, however the level of detail is dependent on the detail on the finger to begin with. Some babies have stronger prints than others, which will naturally also produce a clearer print.
While very few babies have suitable fingerprints at birth, most babies have suitable prints by 6 months old, and almost all babies have very suitable fingerprints by 18 months old.

Is my baby’s fingerprint detailed enough for fingerprint jewellery?

Closely looking at your baby’s fingers will be a good indicator on whether the prints are going to be clear and defined. Thumbs and even big toes are often a great alternative if baby’s fingerprints are still a little too fine to produce a print. If you have some playdoh or soft wax on hand, press baby’s fingers, thumbs and big toes into it and see what sort of detail it produces. Pressing too hard will often smudge the print so be sure to gently pat the finger or toe down.

Even when babies do not have strong prints, the little smudge you do get is still a beautiful reminder of how very tiny their little hands once were, with or without the lines. However if a fingerprint is just not working out, hand and footprint jewellery also makes a beautiful memento of your baby’s tiny features at such a precious moment in time.

How can I get the best fingerprints from my baby?

Very gently tap the paper rather than pressing the fingertip down with your own. Hold the sides of baby’s finger and tap the finger down three to four times (in different spaces on the paper). Don’t press down.

The first print is likely to be too dark and smudged, but keep using the same ink on the fingertip to tap down again several times over- you’ll notice how much clearer and more defined the print becomes with less ink on the finger.

Also only tap onto the fingerprint strip, never swipe the finger across the ink as the ink will then fill the crevices of the fingerprint making it very difficult to get a clear print.

Unlike what is often seen in movies when the police are obtaining fingerprints, rolling the finger does not produce a good print and will almost always result in a smudged print.