Engraved Jewellery: Personalise Your Look

Most people own at least a few pieces of jewellery, whether they are rings, bracelets, necklaces or something in between. In an effort to be as unique as possible, as well as enjoy a one-of-a-kind gift to last a lifetime, more and more people are turning to engraved jewellery. Whether its for yourself, a loved one, or to commemorate an event, engraving a piece of jewellery can be a great way to make it unique and stand out from the crowd. In this article, we’ll be taking a closer look at the types of engraving options, how they work and which one might benefit you.

What is Engraving?

Generally speaking, engraving is a technique used by jewellers and other crafts-people whereby a piece of material, often metal, wood, or plastic, is marked with a word, pattern, or a design to customise it. There are several ways to achieve this and more information on some of the most popular can be found below, to give you an idea of what to expect should you opt to have your stunning piece of jewellery engraved personally.

Laser Engraving

This is the fastest and most popular type of engraving, not to mention the cheapest. It works by placing the material to be engraved onto a dedicated plate, which can then be accessed by the laser engraving tool. The pattern or text is then confirmed, and then the laser is activated, whereby it reaches a pre-defined heat to burn into the material. Sometimes, the laser will be programmed to go all the way through, other times it will only ‘eat’ through the material by a small amount. Regardless, the end result is then polished and looks simply stunning.

Chisel Engraving

Another technique to engrave jewellery is with a chisel; or more specifically, a collection of suitably sized chisel heads that are then hammered into the material to give a unique, but attractive finish. This technique is often practiced by jewellers that work with chisels specifically, or blacksmiths and it can be an advanced technique to master as every chisel is aligned by hand and hammered to a suitable level of pressure. But the finished piece is often so eye-catching that everyone that sees it will ask how it was made.

Ground/ Grinder Engraving

This technique gives the same type of finish as a laser, but with the same attention to detail as chisel engraving. A jeweller will typically use a hand-held device after marking where the engraving is going to go, and then slowly use the device to grind away the layer of material as required. Unique fonts can be achieved with this method as it will be like using a pen; albeit in a slower fashion to really ensure that all of the details are perfect. Even patterns can be designed into the material, giving endless options.

These are just a few options for engraving jewellery, and for wood jewellery, a wood burner can be used to achieve the desired results. It all comes down to your preference and budget, with chisel and grinder engraving costing the most, and laser engraving being the cheapest.