Everything You Need To Know About Engraved Jewellery In One Easy Guide

Gifting engraved jewellery to your loved ones has long been a popular choice. Engravings on jewellery make it a personal and unique gift, which makes it great for commemorating special occasions.

But we know what you’re thinking, “Is engraved jewellery worth it?” or “Is it hard to care for?”

In this guide, we’ll answer all these questions and more so keep reading to find out!

Where can I get my jewellery engraved?

If you’ve already bought the jewellery, your best bet is to take it to a local engraver. You can find one by searching ‘jewellery engraving near me’. But if you’re looking to buy a new piece, The Silver Store has a range of necklaces, pendants, keyrings, cufflinks, bracelets and more. We even engrave pet tags so you can give your furry friend a special gift.

What kind of engraving can I get done?

Some of the most popular types are custom engraving, photo engraving and handwriting engraving.

Personalised engraved jewellery can be done for almost any picture you like, but when it comes to jewellery it’s best to keep it simple. This is because an intricate design could make the engraved jewellery seem messy due to its size.

Personalised engraved jewellery comes in many styles and is only limited by your imagination. Some popular choices include geometric designs, text like an initial, coordinates, dates and family crests.

Photo engraved jewellery is another popular option. You can add any photo you like whether it’s a friend, family member or even your pet. By getting photo engraving you can capture a special moment between loved ones or as a remembrance token.

Common photo-engravings include baby pictures, fingerprints, weddings and pets. These are usually engraved on keyrings, pendants and necklaces.

Finally, you can get hand engraving jewellery, this is a unique option that can capture memories and feelings from important days. You can use cards, letters or anything else that holds a special message.

Since no two people have similar writing, personalised handwriting engraved jewellery can hold a special significance for the receiver. Hand engraving is popular on necklaces, pendants, dog tags or key rings. But it’s up to you to decide on the perfect fit.

How much does engraved jewellery cost?

Engravings on jewellery can range from $8 to $200+ depending on where you look. At The Silver Store, personalised handwriting engraved jewellery is only an extra $20 on top of your jewellery price. While opting for personalised engraved jewellery such as a family crest or photo-engraving costs $25. This is because bigger designs like photos are more intricate and take more time to complete.

Can I sell engraved jewellery?

While you might think selling engraved jewellery is impossible, it’s quite easy for a jeweller to remove an engraving. But, this depends on the type of metal and whether it’s plated or not.

Removing an engraving is as simple as using a laser to level out the texture of the metal. Afterwards, the jeweller will then polish your previously engraved jewellery and restore it to a blank surface.

Like we mentioned before, this process depends on the type of metal your engraved jewellery is made from. Metals like silver, platinum, gold and stainless steel are much easier when it comes to removing engravings. But the issue is mostly with plated jewellery.

Metals like zinc, lead and pewter are common materials in plated jewellery because they’re quite cheap. But these metals don’t react well to the removal process and can even disintegrate. So it’s not worth anyone’s time to go through this process.

Other metals such as tungsten and titanium are very difficult to polish and can lead to scuffing. So engravings on these metals are often permanent, making the resale value of your jewellery lower than normal.

How to care for engraved silver jewellery?

Silver will naturally oxidise over time, but you can always slow this process by taking care of your engraved jewellery. Here are some tips to make sure your silver stays shiny.

• When cleaning your engraved silver jewellery use a mild soap and water solution. Once you’re finished, pat your piece dry with a very soft cloth to stop scratching. If your silver is a bit older or dirtier, it’s smart to use a special cleaning cloth to ensure a thorough clean.
• When you’re not wearing your engraved jewellery, store it in a cool, dry place. If you want to be extra careful you can store it in a tarnish-preventive bag. Otherwise, you can wrap it up in a soft piece of cloth or zip lock bag.
• When storing your engraved silver jewellery, make sure to keep them separate as they can easily knock into each other. This will create scratches in your silver and can degrade it faster.
• Be careful not to spray jewellery with perfumes or let them get in contact with creams. These can cause your engraved jewellery to oxidise faster. Be especially careful with acidic creams like exfoliators, or acne creams.
• Although it’s fine to shower with engraved silver jewellery, it’s best to avoid chlorinated pools or spas as these chemicals can harm the piece. Other chemicals like cleaning products also pose a threat so you should avoid them.
• As backwards as it seems, wearing your engraved silver jewellery more often will help slow tarnishing. This is because the oils in your skin will cleanse the silver of chemicals like hydrogen sulphide in the air. So, when storing your silver, you need to make sure the presence of air and light is as small as possible.
• When cleaning your engraved silver jewellery it’s best to use a polishing cloth as this prevents scratches. The small fibres in tissue paper and towels can damage the surface of your silver, so it’s best to avoid using them.
• The best way to keep your engraved silver jewellery in top shape is with a Silver Cloth. This cloth easily removes tarnish and can slow down the degrading of your piece.

How to choose the right ring for engraving?

It’s important to choose the right style as well as the right sizing when choosing a ring.

Popular ring styles right now are signet rings as well as smaller pieces like cluster rings. Although cluster rings look great, they’re too small for engraving so it’s best to stick to signet rings if that’s what you need.

Now, a ring needs to suit yours or the receivers overall style or it will look out of place. If you’re buying it for someone else, it’s best to look at what they wear right now and find something similar yet still different.

It’s also important to get the sizing right so you avoid the headaches of returning your engraved jewellery. Right now most shops use number sizing while some Australian shops use letters instead.

The most common ring sizes are a 7 for women and a 10 for men. The easiest way to know your size is to measure a current ring that you wear. Another option is to measure the circumference of your finger with a piece of string and convert it to your ring size.