Jewelry and Ring Engraving

There are two forms of engraving in jewelry. One is the engraving of design elements to beautify a piece, and the other is the engraving of personal messages. Design elements are engraved on the outer surfaces of a piece of jewelry whereas personal messages are usually engraved in discrete places, generally on the inside of a ring. The following will provide information about the latter – engraving of personal messages on fine jewelry.

Jewelry items are very personal and often have special symbolic and emotional meaning. This is particularly true of engagement rings and wedding bands. It is very common for couples to engrave personal messages inside their wedding rings. This may take the form of initials or wedding date, or it might be something entirely different. The message is only limited by the amount of space there is for the engraver to work with.

At Whiteflash we offer a few options for engraving. On Whiteflash designs and engraving done in-house, a customer can choose between block, italic, or script fonts. (See samples below of each style). Any letter, number, or symbol found on a standard keyboard can be engraved.

On items from our designer partners, the engraving styles and fonts may differ slightly, depending on the particular technique the designer uses. In some cases, engraving of a designer piece may actually be done in-house by Whiteflash in one of the three styles shown above. If you are very particular about the exact font to be used on your designer piece, please contact one of our jewelry consultants to discuss the details.

The length of the message to be engraved is limited by the size of the ring (width and finger size), and by the hallmark and purity stamp which are also placed inside the ring by the manufacturer according to FTC jewelry stamping regulations. In some cases, it may be possible to forego either the purity stamp or hallmark in order to make more space for the personal message. Doing this would require specific acknowledgement and approval of the customer.

Another engraving consideration is sizing. Adjusting the size of a ring usually requires adding to or removing metal from the ring shank. Typically this is done at the very bottom of the ring. Therefore, any engraving that exists in that spot will be affected by the sizing procedure. The ring may then have to be re-engraved after sizing is done which would involve additional costs that may be passed on to the customer.

While all of this may sound a bit complicated, it is actually quite routine. Computerized laser engravers are commonly used today which produces a more precise and readable message. The depth of the engraving is also very carefully controlled and when a message needs to be removed, for instance after a sizing, it can be polished out and re-engraved with relative ease.

Engraving a piece of fine jewelry adds a very personal touch. Despite some of the limitations and considerations, engraving is something worthwhile that you may wish to consider.