To decorate their products, modern jewelry makers have numerous techniques available for carving ornamentation and images. Some of these techniques are rather simple and are used by practically all jewelers. Other techniques require many years of experience and training, as well as specific and precise tools.
Hand piercing and engraving technique involves crafting jewelry from a solid band or strip of metal. A pattern chosen to decorate a ring or another jewelry object is outlined, pierced, and carved on a plate of metal with the help of the finest drills and saws. Often, because there is such a small space between the lines of an intricate pattern, the hole pierced to outline a design actually overlaps with the design itself. After the metal strip is pierced, the inner side of each hole is polished and burnished with the dull back side of the saw blade. Then, each design is engraved to its greatest possible depth. This particular technique is used by Dmitriy Pavlov, an artist whose works are presented on this site. Over many years of creating handcrafted jewelry, Dmitriy has refined, improved, and mastered this technique. If you would like to read more about this engraving style, please check the Step by Step Process.
Banknote style engraving is one of the simplest engraving techniques. It originated from a well-known technique used to produce the corrugated surface of banknotes. Originally, the process included several steps. First, certain images were carved on a blank with the help of burins or styluses. Next, the carved surface was covered with typographic paint. Then, the painted blank was pressed to a paper sheet to produce an engraved-like print. The banknote engraving technique used in jewelry making usually refers to a combination of shallow lines of various widths carved on a surface to produce a desired image.
Line engraving is another rather simple and popular technique. Often, it is used for decorating simple, unpretentious items. It can look interesting when depicting a creative design and is fairly easy to perform. An image is formed by producing close parallel lines of the same width. Sometimes, these lines are close enough to create an impression of a cleanly drawn image.
Etching technique is very popular nowadays. The working surface is covered with lacquer, and acid is used to corrode an image onto it. In fact, etching is not only an engraving technique but also an auxiliary method of coloring an ornamentation.
Laser engraving is a modern technique in which design is applied by a laser beam instead of a carving tool. Relatively inexpensive, this kind of engraving is used mostly for mass replication. Because the depth of laser-engraved design elements is always identical, this engraving type can hardly compare with quality of hand-made engraving. During the engraving process, a laser is placed at a right angle to the surface. Hand-carving tools, on the other hand, can be applied at various angles and with varying pressure, allowing for production of intricate and multidimensional images with each element engraved to its desired depth.
Casting differs completely from the other engraving techniques because an image is created simultaneously with an item itself. Metal is cast into a shape which already possesses all the features of the future item. Then, it hardens into the shape of a ring, brooch, or other type of jewelry. Casting is also used for mass replication of jewelry and other metal products and is often used by beginners. Though it is simple and affordable, it does not allow production of precise, complex, and finely decorated ornaments.
Filigree, not an actual engraving style, is a method of creating ornamentation by soldering curved or straight wires on top of an item’s surface. This technique has been known since the 15th century and is still used for making complex and beautiful ornaments and images. Although filigree is fairly precise, techniques such as hand piercing and engraving surpass it in fineness and sophistication.
Guilloche is a type of machine engraving. It results in a surface carved with a net of very thin straight or wavy lines. Very often, it is used for decorating enameled items, simple jewelry items, photo frames, covers, plates, souvenir lighters, and cigarette cases.