Engraving
Engraving
What better way is there to dedicate a treasured item to a loved one than to have it specially engraved with a personalised inscription? A pair of cufflinks, a silver christening cup, a signet ring – all are perfectly suited to having initials, a monogram or a family crest added. Our three engravers have 100 years experience between them and the quality of their work is excellent.
Hand Engraving
An engraver uses a very sharp steel graver with a wooden handle to one end, which fits perfectly in the palm of one’s hand, to cut into a metal surface; one false move or a loss of control and an item can be ruined. This is why hand engraving is a skill that takes many years to master. To see the various stages involved please click here
We can engrave initials in a variety of different styles from a flowing script to a more traditional Roman style. We can engrave long inscriptions and monograms and we are often asked to re-produce a person’s hand written message – this is called ‘facsimile engraving’. Images such as crests can also be reproduced (see the tankard to the left); in fact, there is very little that can’t be done when it comes to hand engraving as our hand engraver is not bound by the constraints of a machine. The only limiting factors are size of inscription and accessibility.
Typically for straight forward jobs we aim to turn work around in 5-7 working days although more complicated jobs will take longer – please bear this in mind if you need something for a specific date. Prices start at £35.
We would be very happy to discuss your needs in detail.
Heraldic Engraving
For many years Heraldic engraving has been a speciality of ours. A crest is cut in to the surface of a signet ring to produce a ‘negative’ image in relief; this is to ensure that when the ring is pressed into sealing wax the crest appears in the ‘positive’.
Heraldic seal engraving like this is an immensely skilled craft which takes many years to master. Our engraver is very highly regarded within the profession and has years of experience producing work of the very highest quality. Our gold signet rings are made with seal engraving in mind – being die stamped, they are dense and heavy which makes them perfect for producing outstanding results every time.
Our engraver is also very skilled at cutting crests in to hard stones like, bloodstone, lapis lazuli and sardonyx. We have engraved samples here at the shop so you can see the standard of work that we produce.
Typically seal engraving takes 4-5 weeks although this can vary depending on the time of year (The Autumn leading up to Christmas can be very busy and the turnaround time can stretch to 6-8 weeks). Seal engraving costs can vary depending on the complexity of the crest but prices start at £395 for engraving a gold signet ring to £500+ for a crest on a hard stone.
We are very experienced in all aspects of seal engraving – we understand the craft and can give you sensible, straight forward advice. If you are buying from us and require assistance, we are happy to spend time with you to help research your crest. We have a copy of Fairbairn’s Crests of The Families of Great Britain & Ireland (the ‘go to’ reference work) in store.
Machine Engraving
Please Note: We do not offer a machine engraving serviceat this time.