Cut in stone, carved in rock, etched in metal—familiar phrases denoting permanence and endurance. In this era of social media that words disappear or get buried in volumes of media-feeds, the opportunity to preserve a few heartfelt words or literally mark a meaningful moment takes on more significance than ever. The age-old custom of engraving a message on the shank of an engagement ring or on a couple’s wedding bands is the easiest way to personalize these treasures and turn them from status symbols into genuine keepsakes.
When engraving your treasure, be sure to contemplate the following few important points:
- Expected turn-around time: Know your event dates and any travel plans. If there’s any doubt, consider having the engraving done after the fact. When using our engraving services, most orders will be ready within 48 hours but be sure to ask our customer service representatives what to expect during peak holiday, wedding, and graduation seasons.
- The number of characters: How many letters, numbers, and spaces can be used will depend on the size of the ring and the type of font used. Our customer service representative will be able to advise you on particulars.
- Spelling! Double check grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and line breaks— (a second set of eyes never hurts!).
- Best rings for engraving: All of our precious metal, steel, titanium, and contemporary metals that are 4mm or wider can be machine engraved. Cobalt, Ceramic, and Titanium can be laser-etched.
What to engrave:
- Initials and Names: AB+CD, ABC+DEF are simple and classic. Some couples choose to wear each other’s names, pet names, or nicknames (just be sure, muffin n’ cupcake, that you’ll still love them when you’re sixty four…). Combined monograms usually have the couple’s last name initial in the center, flanked by smaller-sized first name initials—hers on the left, his on the right.
- Dates and locations: Dates can be expressed in European digits or in Roman numerals, and can commemorate a first date, wedding, engagement, or other milestone date. Significant locations can be spelled out by name (Butte, MT or Venice, Italia) or indicated by geographic coordinates (for example: latitude and longitude; 37°53'52.7274"N, and 122°03'43.236"W, respectively.)
- Romantic sentiments: Up to four words will usually fit; popular ones include: "I Promise", "My Only", "It's Always Been You!", "Finders, Keepers", "All My Love", "Never to Part", "No one But You" , "This Day and Always", "A Deal is a Deal!", "∞ + 1", "No Returns!", "Put Me Back!" ...
- Famous Quotes: “Love Conquers All“ (Virgil), “Who, being loved, is poor?” (Oscar Wilde), “…a single soul inhabiting two bodies” (Aristotle), “Dearer than eyesight, space, or liberty” (Shakespeare)
- Religious Expressions or Verse: "God For Me Provided Thee", "My Beloved Is Mine and I Am His" (Song of Solomon 2:16), “Love is Kind” (Corinthians 13:4). Some verses may be too long, but you can put the citation instead such as: "Ruth 1:16-17", "1 Corinthians 13:13", or "Matthew 19:6".
- Connected Words: Sayings that are too long, have two parts, or complete each other can be split between two bands. For example: "To Infinity/and Beyond!", "How Sweet It Is/to Be Loved By You", "Little Spoon/Big Spoon", "When I Saw You I Fell In Love/and You Smiled Because You Knew".
- Personal Mottos or Secret Codes: Original creations, inside jokes, or words in a foreign language—many people like the gravitas of Latin such as "Semper Fidelis" (always faithful) or "Pari Passu" (on equal footing), the flair of Italian such as "Vivo Per Lei" (I live for her) or "Il Mio Cuore e il Tuo Per Sempre" (My heart is yours forever), and the romance of French such as "Je t’aime" (I love you) or "Mon Amour" (my love).
