A Guide to Laser Engraving: Endless Possibilities

A wedding ring is a truly personal piece of jewellery. While there is a traditional way for a wedding ring to look, this is by no means the standard for modern rings. As with all jewellery, wedding bands represent the wearer. Each ring should reflect your style, and moreover, it should appeal to you enough that you want to wear it every day. There are so many ways to make your wedding ring your own. One way to do this is by using laser engraving.

We are proud to have our own laser engraving machine. We also have a dedicated in-house technician with a passion for creating beautiful personal pieces of jewellery. If you want a truly unique ring, then you may want to consider laser engraving.

 

How does it work

Our laser engraving machine has three main parts: a laser, a controller, and a surface (the ring). The laser is like a pencil- the beam emitted from it allows us to trace patterns, words and images onto the rings. We control the direction, intensity, speed of movement depending on what surface we are engraving.

The image that you convert onto the machine can be engraved on all metals, wood and even card.

Any image can be converted into black and white and turned into a file for engraving which means the possibilities are endless!

What is the difference between machine and laser engraving?

Machine engraving is a small machine with a diamond tip pen that inscribes words inside rings. The machine engraving is limited to simple fonts for example Roman, Script and Helvetica.

The laser beam can create much more accurate engravings it has a clear cut, deeper and crisper line.

 

Here are some photographs to show the kind of designs that are possible...

What can I have engraved onto my ring?

 

We are able to engrave almost any kind of pattern, image, symbol or words onto the inside or outside of your ring. The image has to be black and white with clear, thick lines.

You can send us a drawing or a photograph of something similar to what you want and we will transfer it into a workable design (as seen below).

If you are looking to have animals or specific icons like the Eiffel Tower on your ring, then it would be best to have a look online under silhouettes to find the perfect image.

Try and keep in mind that whilst your design might look great on your screen it will be reduced down to a 5th of the size to fit the scale of a ring and any intricate details will be lost. The bolder your design is the more effective it will be as a finished ring.

 

 

What is a popular engraving?

For Machine Engraving customers usually have their names and wedding date however it is totally up to your preference wether you choose a verse from a poem or a personal message.

Laser Engraving has such a huge variety of options however we have found that our more contemporary options are popular. You can have your partners fingerprint engraved on your ring or the sound wave of your favourite love song!

 

What is Ancient Runes engraving?

You can have your name or secret message translated into runes which are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets, which were used to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet.

The runic alphabet goes from A-Z and does not include numbers so if you want a date as well as runes engraving then the date will be shown in standard Roman font.

How to take a perfect fingerprint?

If you decide that you would like a fingerprint engraving on your ring then we will need to send you a ink pad kit.

 

Firstly wash your hands so they are clean and dry them well.

Roll your finger from left to right twice and press hard so that you cover the top of the finger.

Roll your finger onto card or paper from left to right.

Make as many prints on the paper as possible until your prints are fairly faint.

Repeat until you have a few prints that you are happy with.

If they don't look great then try a different finger.

Then return them in the post to us.

 

An example of the perfect finger print.

 

 

There are a few different avenues through which to explore the possibilities of laser engraving. If you have a certain design in mind, you can provide artwork for us to transfer directly to your chosen band. If you are less rigid with the pattern, you can always give us a few ideas to base our design on. We will then make up a sketch for your approval before creating the rings.

Intrigued? Why not get inspired by some examples of rings we have created in the past.

 

Full Coverage Bespoke Laser Engraving on Silver

This client provided an incredible black and white drawing that they wanted engraved over the full width of their ring. We loved the drawing and the way it includes symbols and objects as well as abstract patterns. This design is so personal! We really did not need to make many adjustments to this beautiful concept. Our in-house designer edited the drawing to ensure smooth and legible lines. After that, it was just a case of ensuring the ring and laser were perfectly aligned to achieve flawless engraving coverage.

The engraving was kept in the natural colour of the metal for a lighter effect. The ring was finished in our fine matte finish. This slight texture on the high points of the metal really brings out the laser deign.

 

His & Hers Skulls on Titanium

For this design, our client sourced images of two skulls. Our designer decided to simplify the drawings slightly. This helped the design appear less busy, and more readable from afar. We then advised to have the skulls as a repeat pattern, for more impact. The design was then engraved on to plain titanium bands.

The engraving was then blackened to make it stand out against the grey titanium. Again, a fine matte finish was applied to the final ring. The play of contrasting textures really elevates the design overall.

 

Full Width Koi & Dragon Design

Our client found a koi carp design ring on our site, and requested a similar deign that also incorporated a dragon. After consulting with our designer, they settled on this final design. The koi and dragon meet harmoniously in the middle of the pattern. This style of design is inverted, meaning that the features of the pattern are the highest points and the background is engraved away. The overall affect is really tactile.

Celtic Design on Silver With Enamel

This gorgeous bespoke piece utilises a few design elements. Our client requested a design that included a Celtic symbol as well as a traditional thistle and rose. They liked the idea of a band within a band. In order to achieve this style, we opted for a wide border around the engraved section.

The finalised design was laser engraved on to two silver rings. To enhance the contrast, black enamel was added to the low points of the pattern. This helped make the pattern stand out, without compromising on the desired shiny mirror finish.

What should I be aware of when selecting my design?

Any design that is minimised to the tiny scale of a ring will need to be bold with thick lines otherwise the details will be lost and it will be very hard to define what it is.

Laser engraving your own design on to a plain wedding ring will be regarded as a bespoke request and therefore your ring will be non-returnable.

Laser engraving can be left as a plain cutting line or it can be filled with a blackener which will make the engraving clearer.

The blackener that is added should withstand normal wear and tear when inside thin engraved lines, however large expanses of engraving with cut out areas could leave the black exposed to some wear and you may need it reapplied in the future.

We would usually recommend that engraving should be applied on a 3mm width ring and upwards, the thicker the width the more space there will be to scale up the design and the better it will look.

We only engrave rings that we have made. This is because our insurance only covers rings made by Wedding Rings Direct and any other ring would not be covered in case something would happen to it during the engraving process.

Laser Engraved Gifts

Thanks to the versatility of laser engraving, the possibilities do not stop at rings. We also offer a gift range of pendants, bars, and cufflinks. These make wonderful bridal party gifts, but don't need to be confined to weddings.

If you have a clear photograph you would like transferred on to a piece of jewellery, then contact our bespoke team. Our Design team can convert the image into a black and white portrait ready to burn.

Gift tip: Why not engrave the recipient's favourite pooch or kitty cat on to a necklace disk?

You can shop our gift range here.

 

 

How do I make an enquiry?

You can email us at [email protected] and send over your ring specifications as well as an image of what you are hoping to have engraved.

We can send you a list of the symbols on offer and talk you through the design process if you need to have your own image converted for the engraving machine.
Once we have finalised your bespoke request then we can set up a bespoke order for you and send you a payment request for the amount.

In some cases we will include a sample image with your order so that you can see how the design will look before we go ahead and engrave your real rings.

A bespoke ring will usually take up to 4 weeks to manufacture but if you only need a simple symbol added to your ring then this should not add any time onto the lead-time that you can see on our website.

 

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to call or email us.