Although jewelry has featured symbols and images since ancient times, the art of adding an inscription to rings dates back to the 12th-century posy rings, which featured inscriptions of love, devotion, and faith. Today, the tradition of inscribing rings with meaningful words and symbols continues. If you’re looking for how to engrave a ring, be it a wedding present for your fiancé, an anniversary gift, or a promise ring, you’re in the right place. Custom engraving is the perfect way to add a unique and meaningful touch to your jewelry. We’ll walk you through the process of engraving a ring from start to finish.
How To Engrave a Ring
Although not complex, there are important steps to take to engrave a ring properly and ensure its message gets across, not lost. Follow these in order, and you’ll be one step closer to achieving your perfect engagement ring, wedding band, promise ring, signet ring, or another special ring.
Choose Your Engraving
Before you can start the process of engraving, you have to first select what inscription or symbols you want on the ring. It’s important to think about this carefully and choose an engraving that is meaningful or symbolic for you or the person you’re gifting the ring to. To gather wedding ring engraving ideas and inspiration, consider sentimental phrases, quotes, and poems, or significant dates and places. We’ve collected a list of ring engraving ideas to spark one of your own.
If you opt for an inscription, you’ll next want to select a font, or at least have an idea of what type of font you would like, such as script or typeface.
Don’t go overboard. Shorter is sweeter when it comes to engravings on wedding bands. If the inscription is too long, it may not fit or may be illegible. Be sure to look out for simple engraving ideas for wedding rings such as initials, dates, or even bible verse references for religious ideas. Even something as simple as your initials and wedding date is a meaningful engraving on a wedding ring.
Decide Where You Want it Engraved
After deciding on the wedding ring engraving ideas, decide where to engrave them. For wedding bands and engagement rings, it’s more common to engrave the ring on the interior of the band, where it can be invisible to others and more personal, than on the outside of the band. Inscriptions on the inside of a ring will also last longer than inscriptions on the outside, which can wear away. However, if the design of the ring is such that you want the inscription to be seen, it is possible to engrave the outside of a solid metal band. You can also choose to engrave a ring on the outside but underside of the ring.
The inscription or symbol you chose for your engraving will also impact where it can be placed on the ring. If it is long, it may need to go on the inside where it can wrap around the entire band.
Work with an Experienced Jeweler
Once you have determined the specific wording and location of your engraving, it’s time to contact a jeweler or artisan engraver who can bring your vision to life. At 12FIFTEEN Diamonds, we can connect you with skilled designers who can engrave your ring to your specifications.
When you work with a jeweler who is experienced in jewelry engraving, they will help guide you through the design process and decide on the ideal font, placement, and size of the engraving.
Depending on the jeweler you work with, your engraving may be done by hand or by computer. The traditional method is hand engraving, while the more modern method is laser engraving, but both methods can produce beautiful ring engravings.
What to Consider Before Engraving a Ring
It’s important to note that not all rings can be engraved. Whether or not it can be is dependent on the width and metal of the band. Thin bands, of course, have far less surface area to work with, and thus, even if you do engrave a thin band, the inscription may not be visible.
Certain metals aren’t wise to engrave because of their sheen, which makes the engraving almost invisible, such as sterling silver. Other metals, such as tungsten carbide and titanium, require special machine engraving because of their toughness.
When choosing to have a ring engraved, it’s also critical to ensure the ring is the right size. Engraved rings are much more difficult to resize and can only be resized up to a certain amount.
How Much Does it Cost to Engrave a Ring?
It’s important to consider the cost of an engraving service before deciding to engrave a ring, especially because engraving costs can vary widely. Some jewelers will include it in the overall cost of the ring, while others will tack on a small fee, typically $50-100. However, if you work with a jewelry store that is different from where you purchase the ring, you could end up paying more for the service, especially if they employ a custom hand engraving method.
When you start with a custom design process from the beginning, it’s easier to make personal changes, such as engraving your wedding ring. Nonetheless, an engraved wedding band or really any custom engraving adds a unique touch to any jewelry, from gold to silver to precious gemstones to lab grown diamonds.
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