Many times, when you order a ring or wedding rings to me, you ask me how works the inner engraving, where the names of the bride and groom or a date are usually written. As I have to tell it often, I have summarized it in this post. In fact, not only do you ask me to engrave rings, but also other pieces, so I take the opportunity to talk a little about all the possibilities.

At The MeriTomasa's Treasures Factory I offer you 3 different types of engravings:

• 
  Topaz Wedding Rings, traditional engraving with longer italic type.

  
  Classic Silver Wedding Rings, traditional engraving with small stick letter.

  Pantograph ring engraving (for ring engraving only)

  It is my favorite and the one I recommend the most, for usability and durability. It is made with a semi-manual machine: I have two templates and I engrave them with a diamond tip. It is the engraving of a lifetime, the one you will have seen in your parents' wedding rings. The advantage is that since it is not too deep or too wide, there is no place to store dirt or harmful products that can later damage your skin. In other words: the engraving is like a scratch, not a groove.

  I have two templates:

  • Small stick letter

    ideal for thin rings. You can see an example in my Classic Silver Wedding Rings

  • Longer italic font

    my favorite, for my personal taste. You can see an example in these Topaz Wedding Rings

  These two templates allow you to put letters and a few other symbols, such as the & symbol or hearts.

• 
  Key and Lock Wedding Rings, also with inside inscription with 3D engraving.

  
  Custom Secret Message Wedding Rings, with 3D engraving, from the line of each bride.

  Engraved with 3D designs

  In the same way as we can make a 3D design on the outside of the ring, we can also design the inscription on the inside with a computer. Here you can see two examples: Custom Secret Message Wedding Rings y Key and Lock Wedding Rings.

  The advantage is that there is no limit of extension: we can use any typeface, or a text written by yourself without limit of extension, on the entire width of the ring, both on the inside and on the outside.

  The disadvantage is that the engraving line cannot be very fine because it is not technically feasible. That is, the engraving is not a scratch, but a groove, both for its depth and its width. It's not a pen, it's a marker.

  I do not recommend it so much because that greater width and depth of the engraving makes it easier for more dirt or chemicals to accumulate (bleach, solvent...), which can damage the skin if you are not careful to wash the ring periodically.

• 
  Dark Moon Engagement Ring, with diamond tip engraving.

  
  Rose Cross, with diamond tip engraving.

  Diamond tip engraving

  It is also made with a computer and allows you to put the typeface that you like the most (with some exceptions) or decorative motifs. You can see an example in this Dark Moon Engagement Ring

  It is always a brilliant mode engraving, but it has the limitation that we can only do it on rings (there is a specific machine to adapt to your necktie) or on flat surfaces (most machines do not adapt to curves of different widths, such as a bracelet).

  The main limitation is that the engraving is a fairly light scratch. That implies that it is not very durable: with friction it can fade, or if one day you want to modify the size of the ring because the size of your fingers has changed, it can be erased and will have to be done again..

• 
  Coordinate Bracelets, with laser engraving.

  Laser engraving

  It is also made from a computer design. It looks like 3D engraving because it also makes a dark groove, never bright, but the advantage is that it can reproduce decorative motifs with much finer lines and, therefore, we can work more in detail.

  Its main disadvantage: it is designed to engrave flat: bent surfaces or changes in height are a challenge for this type of engraving.

• 
  Atlantis Ring, with internal freehand engraving.

  
  The art of living Bracelet..., with external freehand engraving.

  
  Pulsera Sin Locos Amigos..., with external freehand engraving.

  Handcrafted freehand engraving

  The most handmade engraving is the one made by the jeweler himself with his own handwriting. It would be like writing with a pen, but on metal: instead of a pen, you need a milling cutter and a hand motor. The main advantage is its warmth: it reflects the pulse and stroke of the craftsman, and I can adjust to one or another letter, in the same way as I can learn to write one stroke or the other with a pen.

  Its main disadvantage: imperfection. If you consider that the imperfection is a disadvantage, it is better to avoid this type of engraving. If, on the other hand, you think that a freehand engraving by the artisan can be a good culmination for a jewel, it may be the best solution.

In summary: if the depth of the engraving goes from 1 to 20, the pantograph ring engraving is a 10, the engraving with 3D design is a 20, the diamond tip engraving is a 7 (in my Treasure Factory: in other workshops the diamond tip can be a 3), laser engraving is a 10 and handcrafted freehand engraving is also a 10.

Finally: finishes

Keep in mind that the handmade and laser engraving are done last, when the ring is already finished. Normally on polished silver making that scratch in the form of a gloss engraving.

In contrast, 3D pattern engraving is a groove that cannot be polished. Therefore, in silver it is customary to leave it in dark silver (taking into account that the silver will oxidize over time), because there is no friction and it is possible that a little dirt will get in it: if we already make it black it is more suffered and the design is adapted to the life of the ring. If it is done on gold (yellow / white / pink) we leave it in the same color as gold but matte (gold cannot be oxidized and therefore we cannot create that contrast).

In all cases the interior finish of your rings can be chosen, but my recommendation is to always polish it for greater comfort and so that the wedding ring is more pleasant to wear.

I insist: my recommendation is traditional engraving, but at The MeriTomasa's Treasures Factory my clients are always right, so... and you, what finish do you prefer??