A dealer in Indore once couriered a lantern that no longer sat in any printed book. The client liked that exact face, that exact door hinge, that exact weight in the hand — and none of the ~201 catalogue models on padmalights.com were close enough. The parcel landed at the Aligarh works. Yogendra and Dharmendra did what the about page still promises in plain words: they studied the weight, the door, the cap, the face — and judged whether a copy in our cast aluminium was honest work. This note is that process for trade and architects who need a custom cast aluminium lantern matched from an object they already trust — pan-India supply from the Aligarh factory, not a city-only shop window. It is not a category browse for gate lights, wall lights, pole lanterns or hanging lights. Those hubs list what we already pour. A replica brief starts with an object you already trust.
Key facts
- Replica work starts with a physical sample — photos alone do not settle weight, door, cap or face.
- The works remakes honest cast aluminium; sheet that only looks heavy and iron that stains plaster are refused.
- If a live catalogue code already matches, order that SKU — do not open a replica brief for “almost.”
- Custom sizes outside the book need a meaningful lot (trade notes: 50+ pieces); national dispatch is quoted ex-works Aligarh.
- First reply path: catalogue PDF for stock codes, or WhatsApp +91 70176 62533 when a sample is coming.
A short scene from the bench
The sample arrives wrapped like something fragile and expensive, even when the original finish is tired. Someone at the works sets it on the bench next to a scale and a calliper. Nobody opens the catalogue first. The first question is whether the piece is a casting we can remake, or a photograph of a casting wearing a different metal. Sheet that only looks heavy in a phone photo is not our metal. Iron that already stains white plaster is not our metal. If the answer is yes, the conversation turns to quantity, finish and how the quote will read. If the answer is no, we say so before anyone spends courier money again. That honesty is the whole point of sending a physical piece instead of a mood board.
Q&A with a trade buyer
Below is the conversation that usually follows once a dealer or architect says: “We have a sample. Can Padma match it?” Answers stay inside what the works already publishes — no invented certificates, ingress numbers or lead-time promises beyond the trade desk notes.
- Buyer: What exactly should I send — photos, a broken piece, or a working lantern?
- Send the physical object when you can. Photos help for a first look; they do not replace weight in the hand. A complete lantern is best. A door, a cap or a damaged body can still teach the face if the main geometry is intact. Label the parcel with your firm name, city, and the WhatsApp number we should reply on. Courier to the works address on about.html. Mention whether the job is a one-off elevation match or a trade lot that must read as a family across many pillars.
- Buyer: What does the works inspect once the sample is on the bench?
- Four things, in the same order the about page names them:
- Weight — whether the mass feels like sand-cast aluminium we can pour again, not a thin pressed shell posing as a casting.
- Door — hinge line, latch or pin, how the glass seat closes, and whether that door can be remade without fighting the body.
- Cap — the seating plane and overall proportion that will sit on a pillar, bracket or pole head (sizing language for pillars lives on pillar size to lantern size).
- Face — the silhouette and ornament the street will recognise at dusk: panels, finials, ribs, the look clients point at and say “that one.”
Finish is a later line item. Powder coat or antique wipe is chosen on the quote; salt and dust behaviour is covered in powder coat and antique. Empty housing versus glass-and-LED packing is the same wholesale choice as catalogue lots — see empty housing vs glass+LED.
- Buyer: When do you say no?
- When the object is not something we can honestly remake in cast aluminium. Sheet metal that only photographs like a casting is refused. Iron that already rusts onto plaster is refused — our metal story is aluminium, and the materials note on aluminium versus iron explains why. When a brief needs a number we have never measured, we also refuse to invent it; drawing emails follow the pattern in architect spec. And custom sizes that leave the book are a different commercial track: the works asks for a physical sample and a meaningful lot (trade notes put custom at 50+ pieces). A single souvenir copy is not how the foundry is set up.
- Buyer: We already like something in your catalogue. Do we still send a sample?
- Usually no. If a code on the 2026 catalogue PDF or the online catalogue already matches the look, order that SKU. Replica work is for the gap between “almost” and “exactly that object.” Architects who only need height marks, porch drops or driveway gaps should stay on those narrower notes — this page is the sample-to-casting path, not a second browse of the four category hubs.
- Buyer: How does the quote actually go?
- After the bench look, the reply names whether a match is possible, what finish and packing options sit on the line, and the commercial frame the rest of the site already uses: billing in INR, ex-works Aligarh, GST and freight outside the piece price, with payment terms on confirmed orders described on the trade desk and freight context on shipping. Catalogue pieces and custom lots move on different clocks; we do not invent a private timetable here. WhatsApp +91 70176 62533 or email padmaenterprises55@gmail.com with quantity, destination city, finish preference, and whether the head should ship empty or glazed. If a floor photo of a related casting helps, ask for it the same way dealers do for stock codes.
Matching checklist before you courier
Use this as a packing note, not as a specification sheet:
- Physical sample labelled with firm, city and reply number.
- Clear photos of all four sides plus the seating plane — useful, never a substitute for the object.
- Intended quantity band (catalogue trade lots start from 10 pieces; custom matching needs the larger custom track).
- Where the replica will sit: pillar cap, wall bracket, porch hang or pole head — so the works knows which geometry matters most.
- Finish family you want on the copy, and empty versus glazed packing.
- Destination for freight quoting once the metal decision is clear.
Padma Enterprises has cast outdoor aluminium in Aligarh since 1990 — founders Dharmendra and Yogendra still read a sample the way they read a pattern. National supply for architects and dealers is the job; Aligarh is the factory origin, not a city-only shop window. Browse what already exists on the hubs, then bring the object when the book is not enough.
What to put in the first WhatsApp
Trade desk: +91 70176 62533 · email padmaenterprises55@gmail.com.
Say that a sample is coming (or already shipped), name the courier and tracking if you have it, and state the quantity band. Add finish, packing preference, city, and which elevation the replica must serve. Attach photos for context. Do not ask us to invent an ingress rating or a client list. Ask whether the face, door, cap and weight can be remade in our metal — that is the only question that starts the job correctly.
“Bring the object. We will tell you honestly whether we can cast it.”