Engraving material: find the medium for your personalized creations

Whatever the occasion may be, there is always a way to find a unique approach to engraving. If you want to digress from the usual objects that are often seen as prime candidates as being personalized by engraving them (rings, clocks, Bibles, coffee mugs, plaques, bottles, pens) perhaps the most logical solution would be to start look at materials that can be engraved using modern equipment and proper technology. That’s because today you can engrave a whole lot more than it used to be possible in the old days of hand-engraving! Let’s have a look at some of the materials, noting their specific properties and the technological nuances.

WOOD

This ancient material is often used due to its relative softness and ease in handling. It is affordable, in fact even the most expensive woods are can be very easily acquired in the amounts that one might need for a simple engraved object. Wood is probably the simplest choice if you intend to make an engraving yourself, without resorting to the help of a specialist. However, apart from hand-engraving wood responds well to laser-engraving tools. “Burning” images on wood demands the choice of hardwoods, such as walnut, mahogany, oak and maple.

METALS

It is obvious that metals (gold, silver, bronze) are good candidates for serving as engraving surfaces. A variation of this type of material can be found in coated metals. They are sometimes specifically manufactured for this exact purpose and provide a high level of contrast between the engraving and the background.

PLASTICS

Plastics come in a great number of varieties. While some are manufactured specifically to be engraved, many common plastic objects are not suited for this purpose. Often it is necessary to fill in the engraved area with paint and generally the effect cannot be compared with the more “noble” materials.

GLASS

Glass can be engraved using sandblasting, diamond bits and lasers. A process called “multi-stage glass sandblasting” can produce particularly stunning results. Glass engraving is often used in combination with glass staining.

Here I have a few ideas that might provide inspiration for creating customized engravings on a promise ring, a wedding ring or a purity ring. The first set I am publishing contains Latin quotes. What needs to be said at this point is that looking for Latin quotations on the internet can be a very dangerous thing. There is a lot of bad Latin out there, so to speak. Some translations are dubious to begin with, but after being copied multiple times, they become detached from their context. Eventually people who have no business dealing with Latin compile them and post them for everybody’s pleasure. To give you a vivid example a must quote a page entitled “Latin Love Quotes: Latin Proverbs on Love and Relationships”:

Each quotation offers words of wisdom in English followed by its Latin translation. Latin is the root of the romance languages and it shows. When people think of a Latin lover, they think of a red-hot lover.

The person who wrote this clearly has no idea what she was talking about. The term “romance” in its colloquial sense has very little to do with Romance languages. This usage stems from a literary term describing love stories that were popularized by medieval authors who wrote in a vernacular sometimes referred to as “Romance” (as in romanice scribere ). Similarly, Latin lovers have nothing to do with the language of Ancient Rome. But all this could be forgiven if the quotes cited were actually correct. But they are not! The original text of the famous quote from Virgil Love conquers all is given as Amor tussisque non celantur, actually meaning Love and cough are not concealed. I can only pity someone who used this phrase for their wedding rings or a tattoo! You have to always verify the quotation you are using for an engraving, using a few independent sources. Obviously, I have checked the phrases below the best I could.

• Ab hinc - From here one
• Amor est vitae essentia - Love is the essence of life. (Robert B. Mackay)
• Amoris vulnus idem sanat, qui facit - The same person who causes the wound of love, heals it. (Publilius Syrus)
• Bona fortuna - Good luck.
• Da mihi basia mille - Kiss me with a thousand kisses
• De die in diem - From day to day.
• De novo - Anew.
• Deo adjuvante - With God’s help.
• Deo favente - With God’s favor.
• Domine, dirige nos - Lord, direct us
• Dominus illuminatio mea - The Lord is my light
• Dominus providebit - The Lord will provide
• Dulcius ex asperis - Through difficulty, more sweet.
• Esto perpetuo - May it last forever.
• Ex amore vita - From love, life
• Finis amoris ut duo unum fiant - It is the goal of love that two shall become one.
• In aeternum - Forever.
• In omnia parati - Prepared for everything (plural) .
• Junctis viribus - By united efforts.
• Laus Deo - Praise be to God.
• Manus in manu - Hand in hand.
• Mirabile visu - Wonderful to behold.
• Ne cede malis - Yield not to evils.
• Nec mortem effugere quisquam nec amorem potest - No one is able to flee from death or love (Publilius Syrus)
• Non est ei similis - There is no one like him (her).
• Oculi amorem incipiunt, consuetudo perficit. - The eyes initiate love, habit completes it. (Publilius Syrus)
• Omnia vincit amor; et nos cedamus amori - Love conquers all things; let us too surrender to love . (Virgil). The word order is sometimes changed to “Vincit omnia amor” and “Amor vincit omnia”.
• Pactum serva - Preserve the faith (the contract).
• Pignus amoris - A token of love.
• Puris omnia pura - To the pure all things are pure.
• Quod Deus iunxit homo non separet - What God has joined together, let man not separate.
  
• Quos amor verus tenuit, tenebit - True love will hold on to those whom it has held. (Seneca)
• Si vis amari, ama - If you wish to be loved, love . (Seneca)
• Sine cura - Without a care.
• Spero melior - I hope for better things.
• Tamquam alter idem - As if a second self. ( Cicero about a true friend)
• Ubi amor, ibi oculus - Where there is desire, there is the eye
• Ubi concordia, ibi victoria - Where is the unity, there is the victory. ( Publilius Syrus )
• Ut ameris, ama! - To be loved, love! (Martial)
• Velle est posse - To be willing is to be able.

It must be noted that in ancient Rome there was no distinction between “U” and “V”, there was also no special letter for “J” (“I” was used). The distinction between lower-case and upper-case letters is also a relatively recent innovation. Consequently, it is customary to only use upper-case letters in modern Latin inscriptions and engravings, replacing u’s with V’s, and j’s with I’s. So, if you plan to order engraved rings with the inscription “Junctis viribus” it will look best like this: IVNCTIS VIRIBVS. However, these conventions have become more relaxed in modern times. You can choose the style of lettering based on the design of the wedding rings that you want to engrave. I may be able to provide an advice in some more complicated cases.

See Also: Engraved Dedications for your Friends and Family. In Latin!

One of the insurance companies that specialize in insuring jewelry lists among the various things that they cover (loss, theft, damage etc) mysterious disappearance . This alone is worth something! If you like adventure, mystery novels, secret societies — what have you — there is nothing better than getting up close and personal with mysterious disappearances. And you would have the proof of it in writing!

And of course, if your wedding ring (engraved or not) mysteriously disappears having it insured may be the best way to get it back, at least as an exact copy. Other than that, at least keep a copy of the inscription (if it is particularly elaborate) in your heart or in any other safe location

Believe it or not, engravers have their own printed periodical:

http://engraversjournal.com

An interesting article in the recent issue deals with the question of whether "big business" is likely to scale down on corporate recognition programs and policies. It appears as if, according to many studies, the reverse trend is more likely!