Engraving in Gold/Silver...

It seems like engagement rings are all silver or platinum these
days... but I'm a bit partial to gold. Maybe I should change my
thinking?

Anyhow, I was thinking about my plans for purchasing an engagement
ring for my girlfriend. I would kind of like her name and a few
horses lightly engraved into the ring, but I'm not sure if gold or
silver better lends itself to this type of work.

The engraving would need to be lightly etched and easily visible.

I kind of think silver would lend itself better to this type of work,
but I'm not sure.

Also, do people generally have a ring set and then have it engraved by
another person?

- Samiel

Samiel wrote:
It seems like engagement rings are all silver or platinum these
days... but I'm a bit partial to gold. Maybe I should change my
thinking?

Anyhow, I was thinking about my plans for purchasing an engagement
ring for my girlfriend. I would kind of like her name and a few
horses lightly engraved into the ring, but I'm not sure if gold or
silver better lends itself to this type of work.

The engraving would need to be lightly etched and easily visible.

I kind of think silver would lend itself better to this type of work,
but I'm not sure.

Also, do people generally have a ring set and then have it engraved by
another person?

- Samiel

You didn't say whether the engraving is to be inside or outside the
ring. If inside then wear is of little consequence, but if outside then
you must consider the problems of it getting worn away.
Etching is not the same as engraving. In etching, the metal is eaten
away by acid, but in engraving the metal is cut away with a sharp tool.

I personally wouldn't recommend silver for an engagement ring because it
wears so quickly and is much more susceptible to tarnishing. If you want
white metal then platinum is the metal of choice, but its also very
expensive. Platinum is also best for retaining an engraving. Gold is a
very suitable metal, especially if you like it best. Gold alloyed with
platinum is still yellow but has a superior resistance to wear than the
more usual alloys.

There are two types of engraving: machine and hand. Hand is better but
much more expensive. It takes such a long time to get proficient at hand
engraving that, in my experience at least, the person who does the
engraving doesn't make the ring. I suppose that there are some people
around who are good at both making jewellery and engraving, but I don't
know any. I can do a bit of engraving, but I wouldn't trust myself to
engrave what you want on an engagement ring.

--

Regards, Gary Wooding
(To reply by email, change feet to foot in my address)

On Tue, 06 Dec 2005 15:56:45 GMT, Gary Wooding
wrote:

You didn't say whether the engraving is to be inside or outside the
ring. If inside then wear is of little consequence, but if outside then
you must consider the problems of it getting worn away.
Etching is not the same as engraving. In etching, the metal is eaten
away by acid, but in engraving the metal is cut away with a sharp tool.

It would be on the outside, though I suppose both inside and outside
are considerations. I'm guessing that the band would need to be thick
enough in order to have engravings on both sides.

I personally wouldn't recommend silver for an engagement ring because it
wears so quickly and is much more susceptible to tarnishing. If you want
white metal then platinum is the metal of choice, but its also very
expensive. Platinum is also best for retaining an engraving. Gold is a
very suitable metal, especially if you like it best. Gold alloyed with
platinum is still yellow but has a superior resistance to wear than the
more usual alloys.

This sounds good because I prefer gold in general.

There are two types of engraving: machine and hand. Hand is better but
much more expensive. It takes such a long time to get proficient at hand
engraving that, in my experience at least, the person who does the
engraving doesn't make the ring. I suppose that there are some people
around who are good at both making jewellery and engraving, but I don't
know any. I can do a bit of engraving, but I wouldn't trust myself to
engrave what you want on an engagement ring.

Maybe I can get a ring I like and then get it engraved? Are there any
considerations like band thickness, etc. that I would need to pay
special attention to if I want a ring engraved?

Thanks for your input!

- Samiel

Samiel wrote:
On Tue, 06 Dec 2005 15:56:45 GMT, Gary Wooding
wrote:
... snip ...

Maybe I can get a ring I like and then get it engraved? Are there any
considerations like band thickness, etc. that I would need to pay
special attention to if I want a ring engraved?

That's a good idea. A good hand engraver can cut exceedingly small and
intricate designs - at a price. Hand engraving is neither a quick nor a
cheap process. My advice would be to first find an engraver and discuss
your requirements; he could then advise you on the size of the ring he
would be willing to work on. If you were in UK I would put you in touch
with a friend of mine who happens to be a master of his craft.
--

Regards, Gary Wooding
(To reply by email, change feet to foot in my address)

On Wed, 07 Dec 2005 07:19:38 GMT, Gary Wooding
wrote:

That's a good idea. A good hand engraver can cut exceedingly small and
intricate designs - at a price. Hand engraving is neither a quick nor a
cheap process. My advice would be to first find an engraver and discuss
your requirements; he could then advise you on the size of the ring he
would be willing to work on. If you were in UK I would put you in touch
with a friend of mine who happens to be a master of his craft.

I was hoping to get a simple horse (nothing complex) engraved on a
ring. I have already talked to one jeweler who says that would be too
complicated and the band would need to be too wide in order for it to
look okay.

Am I asking too much to have a horse engraved on a ring along with a
rose or something? Is this not usually something that's done?

- Samiel

On Thu, 15 Dec 2005 02:59:54 GMT, in rec.crafts.jewelry Samiel
wrote:

On Wed, 07 Dec 2005 07:19:38 GMT, Gary Wooding
wrote:

That's a good idea. A good hand engraver can cut exceedingly small and
intricate designs - at a price. Hand engraving is neither a quick nor a
cheap process. My advice would be to first find an engraver and discuss
your requirements; he could then advise you on the size of the ring he
would be willing to work on. If you were in UK I would put you in touch
with a friend of mine who happens to be a master of his craft.

I was hoping to get a simple horse (nothing complex) engraved on a
ring. I have already talked to one jeweler who says that would be too
complicated and the band would need to be too wide in order for it to
look okay.

Am I asking too much to have a horse engraved on a ring along with a
rose or something? Is this not usually something that's done?

- Samiel

It's not asking too much, but it may be asking for something difficult tofind,
at least in the U.S. The thing is that good, really good, hand engravingis a
rare skill these days. There are people out there who can do stuff with gravers
that will leave you just stunned (check out Steve Lindsey's site, at
http://www.lindsayengraving.com/ . But people with these skills are
specialists, not your typical jeweler, and really good work isn't so cheap
either. Most jewelers today have some rudimentary skills with gravers, used
mostly for setting stones and minor detailing, but not to the level of good
detailed image oriented decorative work or good lettering, etc. So you need to
find one of those folks who's specialized in engraving work, and there aren't
that many of them around. (though your rose or other flowers are simpler than
the horse, and easier for more people to do passably)

You DO, however, have other options. Rather than asking for an existing ring to
be engraved, one can simply make a ring from scratch, with the desired design
modelled into the wax model used to cast the ring. There are more good wax
modellers out there than there are engravers. Now, how good it will be depends
on the size you need, and the detail you need. Don't expect a horse 3 or4
millimeters in size to be recognizable as a particular horse. Be satisfied if
it just looks more like a horse than a dog. If this will do, then it's a
reasonable request. If you need more, you can get it, but your search for the
folks who can do it will be more difficult, as you'll need to find greater than
average skill levels.

In recent years, modern CAD/CAM methods have become increasingly available to
jewelers that greatly increases the level of precision easily available in small
detailed modelling. If you find a custom jeweler with the technical facilities
to use these methods to produce the model, then rather amazing levels of detail
may be obtained.

HTH

Peter