Ultimate Guide to Jewellery Engraving
Sometimes, that special gift needs a personal touch. Engraving your jewellery is the perfect opportunity to convey a sense of individuality and sentimentality. Whether you're curious about the process or seeking inspiration, in this comprehensive guide to jewellery engraving, we'll explore everything from the different methods to debunking frequently asked questions and delve into popular personalisation options.
What Types of Jewellery Can Be Engraved?
Popular types of engravable jewellery include:
Fashion rings
Signet rings
Wedding rings
Eternity rings
Engagement rings
Necklaces
Pendants
Bracelets
Bangles
Cufflinks
Brooches
Earrings
Grillz
What Types of Metal Can Be Engraved?
Jewellery is created from a diverse range of metal types, each with its own characteristics and suitability for different engraving techniques. Common metals that are frequently engraved include Platinum, Yellow Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Silver, Brass, Copper, Steel, Cobalt, Tungsten, and Aluminium.
It's worth noting that cobalt and tungsten engraving require specialised machinery to engrave. At Laser Engraving Service, we're one of the few jewellery engraving specialists in the UK that offer cobalt and Tungsten ring engraving.
How is Jewellery Engraved?
Among the various methods of customisation, two distinct techniques have emerged as front-runners: Laser Engraving and Hand Engraving.
What is the Difference Between Laser and Hand Engraving?
The main distinction between these two engraving methods is hand engraving is 3D, whilst laser engraving is 2D.
What Is the Process of Hand Engraving Jewellery?
Hand engraving is carried out by a specialist jewellery engraver using a variety of different tools, such as drills or gravers made from hardened steel, to carve into the precious metal of your item of jewellery to engrave detailed patterns, lettering, or images.
What Is the Process of Laser Engraving Jewellery?
Engraving jewellery using a laser begins with creating the artwork in an appropriate vector file format before uploading the design to a fiber laser machine.
The item of jewellery is securely positioned within the machine, and the laser settings are adjusted to the metal type and design specifications.
Subsequently, the laser beam is projected through a series of mirrors and refined through a focal lens onto the surface of the jewellery, vaporising the metal surface in accordance with the predefined design parameters.
Once engraved, the jewellery is polished to remove any burs as a result of the engraving process.
What Is the Best Method of Engraving Jewellery?
Consider the complexity of your design when choosing between laser engraving and hand engraving. Laser engraving excels in producing precise and detailed geometric designs, while hand engraving is ideal for more of an illustrative or cursive outcome.
Additionally, it's worth considering your budget and timeframe. Laser engraving is generally more affordable than hand engraving and takes less time to complete.
Find out more about laser engraving vs. hand engraving.
Does Engraved Jewellery Lose Value?
Engraving jewellery with a pattern enhances its aesthetic appeal and can increase its value. However, while jewellery engraved with a personalised message adds sentimental value, it might restrict its marketability for resale.
Can an Engraving Be Removed?
Yes, it is possible to remove an engraving from an item of jewellery. By using specialised laser welding equipment, a jeweller will infill the engraved area with the appropriate precious metal before buffing down and re-polishing the infilled area to restore the metal to a smooth, blank surface.
How Long Does Laser Engraving Last on a Ring?
A ring engraved, whether it be a sentimental message or symbol, can last a lifetime.
When engraved on the outer surface of a ring made from softer metals such as gold, the ring is susceptible to scratching, potentially causing the engraving to wear away gradually. In contrast, hard metals like Tungsten offer greater durability, making it highly resistant to scratches, thus preserving the integrity of the engraving.
How Much Does Jewellery Engraving Cost?
The cost of engraving an item of jewellery varies drastically depending on the engraving method, size, your artwork requirements and finishing.
Generally, a reliable jewellery engraving service starts from around £30.00.
Do Jewellers do engraving?
Jewellery engraving is a specialised field. Although many jewellers advertise providing jewellery personalisation, the engraving is rarely carried out on-site and is often sent to a specialist.
At Laser Engraving Service, our jewellers have a decade of experience in this specialist field. Additionally, our jewellery engravers produce fine jewellery, providing invaluable insight into the different metal types, finishes and compositions of various styles of jewellery.
How to Choose a Font
With so many font styles, it can become overwhelming. To simplify this process, we've rounded up some of our customers' favourite font choices for engraving.
When selecting a font, it's essential to consider its readability, especially if the area to be engraved is relatively small.
For example, a classic serif font like Times New Roman is perfect for formal occasions, such as engraving a watch intended as a retirement gift.
On the other hand, opting for a whimsical, cursive font when engraving an engagement ring infuses a sense of personal sentiment.
Popular Jewellery Engraving Ideas
The possibilities are limitless. Here, we've highlighted some of the most sought-after jewellery engraving requests from our customers, spanning from important dates and heartfelt messages to zodiac signs, symbols, crests, monograms, and even fingerprints. We'll delve into each of these in greater detail below.
Significant Dates
Among the most favoured personalisation requests for jewellery are significant dates, particularly for wedding rings. Examples include:
Your wedding anniversary
Birthdays
Engagement date
Child's birthdate
Graduation date
First date
Memorial dates of loved ones
Retirement date
Adoption date
Date of a significant achievement or accomplishment
Personalised Messages
Engraving personalised messages onto jewellery serves as a tangible expression of emotions, memories, and connections, creating lasting sentiments. Here are some examples:
Nicknames: "Puddle Duck" or "Huxley Pig"
Inspirational Quotes: "I Choose Positivity" or "March to the Beat of Your Own Drum."
Inside Jokes or Secret Messages: "Peanut to my Butter" or "You're my Lobster"
Monogram Engraving
Engraving a monogram is a widely embraced method of personalising a signet ring.
A monogram is a motif created by overlapping or combining the initials of an individual to create a recognisable symbol. A series of uncombined initials is referred to as a cypher (e.g. a royal cypher) and is not a monogram.
Significant Locations
Engrave the name of a location that holds sentimental value, or have you thought about engraving the coordinates in latitude and longitude format?
For example, London's coordinates are 51.509865, -0.118092.
You can use the Mapbox Search playground on Google, which allows you to search for a location and retrieve its coordinates.
Fingerprint Engraving
In today's age of advanced laser technology, fingerprint engraving has become remarkably simple.
Capturing your fingerprint impressions can now be done at home using just a pen, sticky tape, or a basic ink kit. Afterwards, your fingerprint is scanned in high definition and meticulously refined using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop before being expertly engraved onto your jewellery.
Fingerprint engraving has become increasingly popular in recent years, especially for couples' wedding bands.
Engraving your Family Coat of Arms
Engraving your family coat of arms is a much sought-after personalisation option for signet rings.
Personalising your item of jewellery with your family crest is a fab way to infuse sentimental value and create a cherished family heirloom to be treasured for generations to come.
Crest Engraving
The terms "Coat of arms" and "family crest" are often used interchangeably. However, the family crest actually refers to the emblem placed above the helmet of the coat of arms.
Engraving an item of jewellery with a crest is a preferred choice when the coat of arms is too detailed.
Zodiac Sign Engraving
If you are into horoscopes or astrology, why not personalise your item of jewellery with your zodiac sign?
Zodiac signs are astrological symbols representing different periods of the year, each with its own set of traits and characteristics believed to be associated with people born under that sign.
♈ Aries (Ram): March 21–April 19
♉ Taurus (Bull): April 20–May 20
♊ Gemini (Twins): May 21–June 21
♋ Cancer (Crab): June 22–July 22
♌ Leo (Lion): July 23–August 22
♍ Virgo (Virgin): August 23–September 22
♎ Libra (Balance): September 23–October 23
♏ Scorpius (Scorpion): October 24–November 21
♐ Sagittarius (Archer): November 22–December 21
♑ Capricornus (Goat): December 22–January 19
♒ Aquarius (Water Bearer): January 20–February 18
♓ Pisces (Fish): February 19–March 20
Prokerala is a brilliant online resource for learning about your zodiac sign and the different personality traits associated with your star sign.
Looking for a Jewellery Engraver?
Visit our engraving shop in person, or conveniently send your jewellery by post for personalisation.
At Laser Engraving Service, we combine the latest in laser technology with genuine design ethos and craftsmanship to provide a range of services for jewellery personalisation.
Whether you're looking to add a sentimental message or date to the inside of your engagement ring, personalise your signet ring with your family coat of arms, or add your logo to your new jewellery collection, our fantastic team of jewellery engravers with over 50 years of experience in the industry are here to bring your ideas to life!
Located in London's historic jewellery district of Hatton Garden, we extend our services to trade and private customers, conducting all jewellery engraving right here on-site, enabling us to offer some of the industry's quickest turnaround times.
