Hand engraving is one of the most overlooked elements of a piece of fine jewelry today. Long before stones like diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, or rubies were set into metal to adorn them, craftsmen used primitive tools to carve and shape both stones and metal to convey an artistic design. Hand engraving is also one of the most historically important skills from within the jewelry industry being used to create the some of the first printed maps and plates for the first print-presses.

The first engravings were primitive lines carved into shells or ostrich eggs dating back to the Stone Age, which have now evolved into intricate and exacting patterns to tell a story on the surface or to give a unique personalization to the inside of a loved one’s jewelry.