Inside-band inscription on a wedding ring, a signet face cut by hand, a date set into the back of a locket — our London workshop engraves the jewellery pieces that mean the most to people, with proofs agreed before any tool touches the metal.
Engraving belongs to one of the oldest traditions in fine jewellery — posy rings carried inscribed lovers' verses six centuries ago, and signet rings sealed wax letters for longer than that. We work in that lineage, with modern tools, on the pieces couples and families bring us today.
Every inscription at our workshop is cut with a fibre laser — a contact-free process that delivers consistent, sub-millimetre accuracy on geometries traditional gravers cannot safely reach. From inside-band dates to pendant fronts and claw-set pieces, laser engraving lets us work the finest detail without ever risking the surface or the stones.
Computer-guided fibre laser produces clean, even-depth lines at a level of consistency hand tools cannot match. The right method for inside-band date inscriptions, joint initials, GPS coordinates, monograms and short phrases — every character renders identically, and matching pieces are engraved to exactly the same brief.
Crisp, predictable results on gold from 9k to 22k, on platinum, on sterling silver, on stainless steel and titanium watch cases, and on ceramic insets where conventional gravers cannot work. The same workshop calibration carries across material families with no compromise in line quality.
The fibre laser marks the surface without any tool contact — the right method for pendant fronts where a graver would risk damage, for locket interiors with awkward geometry, and for claw-set pieces where the gemstones cannot safely be cleared from the work area. No vibration, no pressure, no risk.
From rings and pendants to luxury timepieces and presentation trophies, our studio undertakes engraving across the full spectrum of fine jewellery and bespoke gifting.
Four stages between your first message and the finished piece returning to you. Each one signed off in writing before we move to the next, because there is no way to undo a cut once it has been made.
Either in person at the workshop or by email if the piece is being sent in. We discuss inscription content, layout, font choice and any deadlines you are working against, and we examine the piece itself for the practical constraints — band width, setting clearance, surface curvature, existing engraving — that shape what the new inscription can become.
A digital proof drawing the inscription to scale on the actual band geometry, with the typeface, character spacing and finish position you have agreed. You see exactly what the engraving will look like before anything is committed. Revisions until you confirm — most pieces settle in one or two rounds, more elaborate monogram or family-crest work in three or four.
Bench time runs between ninety minutes and a full day depending on technique and complexity. Each piece is checked under magnification at multiple stages, and the engraver signs the work off only when depth, line weight and surface finish meet our internal standard.
Final inspection covers depth, character spacing and surface finish. The piece is photographed for our records, cleaned, packed in its original box or a Martin Oliva presentation box, and returned to you by insured tracked courier. London clients may collect by appointment.
It depends on band width, internal circumference and the typeface chosen. A standard 4mm band in UK size N comfortably takes around thirty to thirty-five characters in our default workshop script; a narrower 2.5mm band drops to roughly twenty. We always produce a to-scale proof drawn on the actual ring geometry, so you can see exactly how the line breaks and breathes before any cut is made.
Yes, and a large share of our work is exactly this — a name, a date or a quiet phrase added to a band that has been on the finger for years. The ring is examined under magnification for thinning, claw wear and any existing inside-band marks, and we advise on the depth that the metal will comfortably hold. A light polish afterwards returns the band to wearing condition.
An engraving cut to our standard depth — around 0.15 to 0.25mm depending on the alloy — outlasts the band itself in any normal lifetime of wear. Inside-band inscriptions sit against the finger rather than against working surfaces, so they see almost no abrasion. We do see decades-old inscriptions arrive for resizing that are still as crisp as the day they were cut.
Inside-band remains the traditional and most common choice for wedding and engagement rings: private, undamaged by daily wear, and protected from accidental contact. Outside-band engraving is reserved for signets, men's rings, and bands designed with an engraved face in mind. We discuss visibility, tone and the practical exposure of the inscription during the brief, so the choice fits both the piece and how you intend to wear it.
Handwriting reproduction is one of our most-requested commissions — a signature, a child's note, a line from a card. Send a clean photograph or scan and we vectorise it for engraving while preserving the natural weight and rhythm of the original hand. We regularly work with Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Sanskrit scripts in addition to bespoke typographic designs.
Yes — we accept rings, pendants, bracelets, lockets and signets from any reputable maker, hallmarked or otherwise. Each piece is examined and weighed in front of the client at intake; pieces with structural concerns are flagged before any work is agreed. We do not engrave items where ownership cannot be reasonably established.
A skilled resize avoids the engraved area entirely — the goldsmith opens and adjusts the band on the opposite side from the inscription, so the original text is preserved untouched. If a full re-cut is ever needed, we can re-engrave from the original proof file we keep on record indefinitely. Resizing is quoted separately from the engraving work.
Every engraving carries a lifetime workmanship promise: any technical fault in the inscription itself — uneven depth, line break, character flaw traceable to our work — is corrected at no charge. Subsequent metalwork, polishing or alterations are quoted separately. Proof files are kept on record so a future re-cut, if ever needed, returns to the exact original.
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