Although not all friendship rings require engraving, this is certainly a type of jewelry that benefits from a clear statement that expresses the wearer’s sentiments or serves to remind about the occasion of its purchase. There are some design elements that emphasize the idea of friendship: the heart, the clasping hands of a claddagh ring, matching gems or birthstones etc. Apart from that, friendship rings very often bear engraved inscriptions and I am happy to make some suggestions that may help you design your own custom rings or search for rings with particular inscriptions available through retailers. As usual, I try to provide Latin versions of these friendship quotes, since I believe that Latin (along with occasional French) is a language well-suited for jewelry engraving.

• FRIENDSHIP (AMICITIA ) – Perhaps the most common inscription on friendship rings.
• FRIEND (AMICUS masc., AMICA fem.)
• FRIENDS (AMICI masc., AMICAE fem.)
• BEST FRIEND (AMICUS OPTIMUS masc., AMICA OPTIMA fem.)
• BEST FRIENDS FOREVER (AMICI OPTIMI IN AETERNUM masc., AMICAE OPTIMAE IN AETERNUM fem.)
• A FRIEND IS A SECOND SELF (ALTER IPSE AMICUS)
• HE IS A TRUE FRIEND, WHO, UNDER DOUBTFUL CIRCUMSTANCES, AIDS IN DEED WHEN DEEDS ARE NECESSARY (IS EST AMICUS QUI IN RE DUBIA RE JUVAT, UBI RE EST OPUS) – A quote from Plautus
• I SPARE NO EXPENSE SO LONG AS I CAN SERVE MY FRIEND (NIHIL PRETIO PARCO, AMICO DUM OPITULOR)
• THERE IS NOTHING WHICH, IN MY SENSES, I SHOULD PREFER TO A DEAR FRIEND (NIL EGO CONTULERIM JOCUNDO SANUS AMICO) – A quote from Horace.
• CONSULT YOUR FRIEND ON EVERYTHING, BUT FIRST OF ALL ABOUT YOURSELF (OMNIA CUM AMICO DELIBERA, SED DE TE IPSO PRIUS) – A quote from Seneca.
• TO HAVE THE SAME TASTES AND THE SAME DISLIKES – THIS IN FACT IS THE BASIS OF LASTING FRIENDSHIP (IDEM VELLE ET IDEM NOLLE EA DEMUM FIRMA AMICITIA EST) – A quote from Sallust.
• A LITTLE PLEDGE OF NO LITTLE FRIENDSHIP (PARVUM NON PARVAE AMICITIAE PIGNUS) – This motto seems perfect for a gift to a friend or a friendship ring!

It must be added that the quotes from Ancient authors always sound better in their original language rather than in translation. Also, some people simply choose to engrave their names on friendship rings. Good luck with your engraved rings and your friendships!

See also:

Promise Rings: History and Meaning

Friendship quotes in Latin

Just found out this. The wife of Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski wore an engraved wedding ring. The inscription contained her husband’s name. The ring helped identify the body of the First Lady after the horrific plain crash. I was unable to find out whether the inscription was made on the outside or on the inside of the ring.

Not too long ago I discovered an offer which is a great example of double exclusivity: Veritas Rings.

These rings can only be purchased by Harvard alums and their immediate family. As if that was not exclusive enough, they only made 20 of these rings. The two available designs feature the motto of Harvard University, the Latin word for “truth” (Veritas). Each ring can be personalized and a special certificate is issued.  The rings are priced accordingly, but nothing too extraordinary, considering the “double exclusivity” that has been already described. It must be added, however, that when I decided to follow the “easy order” link  (because I would actually qualify to buy one of these rings) it lead me to a PayPal shopping cart. Not what you would expect. But I still don’t think that there is anything fishy. Harvard would not allow anything like that! The moral of this story is, if you are looking for exclusive rings try to find a combination of several factors that make the product unique. Even the seller may not be aware of these factors. You see, exclusivity is in the eyes of the beholder.

An interesting article in The San Diego Reader goes into great detail describing the process of jewelry engraving by hand. This art is not going through its best times in the age of industrial laser engravers. Still, even the traditionally-minded hero of the article admits that he will use a laser to work on the inside of the ring. It sounds like the journalist who wrote the piece is planning to give her mother and her mother-in-law a pendant with their names engraved on it. And, get this, the lady’s names will be interwoven with the author’s own! That may be too much.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/apr/22/jewelry-engraving/

I would also like to point out my list of Latin dedications that can be engraved on gifts for friends and family:

Engraved Dedications for friends and family

There is a system, of French origin, that allows to record messages on jewelry using gems whose names begin with specific letters. For instance, the so-called “Regard” rings had inscriptions formed by a combination of such stones:

Ruby

Emerald

Garnet

Amethyst

Ruby

Diamond

Lapis lazuli

Opal

Verd  antique

Emerald

You can easily write a simple motto or a name using this system. There is even something secretive and mysterious about it. The only problem is that it may be difficult to find gems that begin in certain letters. I suppose you can replace them with other types of minerals or use the same gemstone for more than one letter (Ruby can represent both R and Y)

Many engraving services can easily inscribe anything on a ring or some other surface, as long as you provide them with a simple graphic. This method is typically used to create engravings in non-Latin alphabets. The Runic alphabet is a very stylish way to create unique engraved jewelry. Because runes were at one point actually used to write in English, there is actually some historic value to resorting to Runic characters. You can simply spell out your name or even a simple motto. A great little online app! It actually lets you select between several different styles of Runes. Full description of each style is provided for your reading pleasure.

Rune Converter: Turn Roman Letters Into Runes

Anglo-Saxon Runic Rings

I have previously discussed the many ways of inscribing wedding rings. Typically this involves using names, mottos, Bible verses and short poems. Here is yet another idea that just may be perfect for some couples.

The idea of “our song” is a well-known phenomenon. Many couples have a song that they associate with some memorable moment in their lives. Very often this song is played during the wedding as the newly married couple dances to it (this is a memorable moment in its own right, of course). Now, wouldn’t it be clever to have the lines from this song engraved on the wedding rings? You can either go with one line or the entire text of the lyrics. If musical notation means something to you, the notes can be also very beautifully displayed on the ring.

I assume that this idea would also work for certain types of promise rings.

See also:
Engraved Wedding Rings: Helpful Ideas for Couples

On a whim, I came up with this list of ideas for party favors. A good number of them can (and should!) be personalized. Sometimes personalization of a party favor is the craft project that the whole party is build upon. I did not make any differentiation between kids and grown-up parties, including such specialties as wedding favors, but there are ideas that can be useful for more than one occasion. The list is not comprehensive, but some of these ideas can easily be a source of inspiration for a party. Use it for what it’s worth.

Name plate with attached bag of candy
Helium-filled baloons
Beads made out of pasta
Cookies, decorated at the party
Inexpensive Jewelry
Photos taken at the party (framed)
Photo albums
Tea cups
Small stuffed animals (e.g. Webkinz)
Removable tattoos
Stickers
Mp3 downloads gift cards
Candles (aromatic, can be personalized)
Coloring mats
Party favor cones (instead of bags)
Keychains (can be personalized)
Jigsaw puzzles decorated at the party
Small pillows (can be decorated at the party)
Bags of gourmet coffee beans
Small plants
Sewing kits
Customized candy (m&ms etc.)
Flip-flops
Beach balls
Magic sets
Hand towels (can be decorated and personalized)
Assorted soap bars and bath salts
Personalized pens and pencils
Wands, glow-in-the dark sticks
Personalized cups or glasses
Scones
Time capsules
Bottles of bubble bath mix
Bandanas (can be personalized)
Recipe books
Assorted tea bags
A doll that looks like the bride or the b-day girl
Caleidoscopes
Tiaras and wands
Hot chocolate in nicely decorated packets
Playing cards
Whistles (can be decorated)
Flashlights
Bags of colored chalk
Trading cards
Cofee scoops (can be decorated and personalized)
Small vases (can be decorated)
Flower arrangements
Mini pinatas
CDs with songs and fairytales
Small bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Boxes of Christmas ornaments (can be personalized)
Goggles
Bottle-openers (can be personalized)
Money clips (can be personalized)
Personal seals
Small stuffed toys

If you are looking for a completely new approach to ring engravings, how about runic quotes in Old Norse.

Here is the link:

Runic Love Quotes

All you need to find is a service that makes ring engravings from image files (jpg etc). I know for fact that there are many websites that do exactly that. Then you can surprise you beautiful Norwegian girldfriend with a ring inscription that she may not be able to read, but which will definitely warm up her cold Nordic heart.

One of the visitors of this site wanted to find a purity ring engraved with the words I have decided. I don’t think there are any such rings on the market right now, but you can easily have one engraved through a number of websites. Here is the reasoning behind this inscription.

Chastity and abstinence are often associated with religion. With good reasons, to be sure. However, moral choices of such importance can be made by people of little or no religious zeal. Although the most common purity ring inscription “True love waits” could easily be taken outside of religious context (particularly because “love” in this sense is not necessarily a Christian notion), it seems to me that many individuals would rather emphasise the fact that wearing the purity ring and remaining on the course of actions required by such a commitment is, above all, their personal choice, a decision that they consciously made. Also, this kind of resolution is likely to draw more sympathy and respect. Hence such possible inscriptions for purity rings:

• I have decided
• My decision
• My choice
• My path

Perhaps, the same mottos can be applied to promise rings of other types (a purity ring is, essentially, a promise ring), as long as the same sentiment of personal choice and decision needs to be emphasized.