Hand Engraved Cufflinks - New Daddy

Hand engraved cufflinks. The lettering here is about 2mm high and hasn't been oxidised.

The cut of the engraver leaves a beautiful high mirror cut on the letter which sparkles in the light.

It is a shame that a photo can't capture this stunning effect.

I can of course engrave any message onto cufflinks, so feel free to drop me an e-mail if you would like something similar.

If you would like to have a look at my cufflinks on Flickr, then please CLICK HERE.

Angel wings in sterling silver.

I was asked by a lovely lady to make a pair of Angel wings in stelring silver to serve as a pendant in memory of her mother.

This was a delightful commission to create and I do hope that this bespoke design brings much comfort.

Part TWO. Hand engraving a wax seal (coat of arms or family crest)

So the shield was engraved to a nice depth and an impression was taken to ensure it all looked OK.

This particular design, has a horizontal bar, which was engraved in and the depth checked with the plasticene.























Next to bew engraved was the three diamond shapes. Again, the plasticene is used to check the impression.























I missed aphoto, but you can see that I have now engraved a helmet from a suit of armour.

I use the plasticene by pressing it onto the surface of the metal. This leaves behind a film of grease onto the metal. You can now draw in pencil onto the grease and it leaves a nice crisp pencil outline. Once I am happy with the scroll, I then engrave the pattern on one side.













































I then mirror the scroll pattern onto the other side and engrave that as well. Once I am happy that all the elements work, it is then ready to be burnished, polished and mounted onto a handle.
























Here is the finished piece, mounted onto a handmade teak handle. I can hand engrave your own coat of arms or crest to make your own unique gift. Click here for details.

Part ONE. Hand engraving a seal. ( A coat of arms or family crest)

This is what I am going to be engraving today. It is the Parry coat of arms. I will make some modifications to the artwork, but in essence I will be engraving my family coat of arms onto a piece of silver.

I will then mount this on a wooden handle, to make a "Parry" seal which can be used with melted wax. The tradition of sealing letters with melted wax, and using your official seal dates baack hundreds of years.

You can either engrave the entire coat of arms, just the crest. The crest is usually a helmet or an animal, or just the name with some swirling scrolls. Ultimately, your official seal, is whatever you want it to be. So nowadays you could have an X-Box and HD TV if you so wished it. These coat of arms however are just traditional.

These designs can be engraved onto signet rings, cuff links, wax seal stamps.....































So this post might take too long in one hit, so I will star and ight carry it over onto another day.
the picture above is my engravers ball vice. it is really heavy so it doesn't budge when you are working on it. It grips the piece you are engraving and at the same time, allows you to rotate the whole top section.

It is a bit like a bowling ball sitting on a ring, you can angle it, rotate it, and this version even allows you to re-centre it, but that is for the real engraving nerd!

The toothbrush in the picture, is because I like minty breath as I work. OK, it is actually just a really handy little brush to clean the piece as you go.



































The picture above is a little homemade rack holding my different sized engraving tools. Each is slightly different in width and shape. I have colour coded the handles so I can tell them apart easier.



































A close up of some of my tools, that I use to engrave. Top to bottom, we have a 1.2mm wide flat engraver, a steel burnishing tool with homemade ergonomic handle made from Jet Set from Rio Grande. A square engraver, used to do line work and script letters and finally an agate burnishing tool. used to smooth metal and give a high polish.



































Here is the piece that I am working on. A 20mm circle of sterling silver. I have marked out a simple shield design and using the tools above, I have engraved a shallow depth of about 0.5mm.

As I progress, I use a piece of modelling clay (plasticene), to take an impression. This helps me to see how neat the edges are and how deep the engraving is.

Please come back to see the next stages and feel free to leave a comment.

Sterling silver golf ball marker

A young lady came into my shop today. Just so happens she is getting married on Saturday. She was with her friend, and they both perused the shop. whilst they were looking at the jewellery cabinets, they happened across my sterling silver golf ball markers.

For those not in "the know", when you are on the green, waiting to sink your putt, you take turns. The ettiquette, is that he who is furthest from the hole, takes their shot first, and so on, until all balls are sunk. If your ball is in the way, you are supposed to mark where the ball lies, and temporarily remove your ball.

So these sterling silver golf ball markers are a touch of luxury, to give to that golf fanaticwho already has it all.

They can be personalised, and in this case, the young lady wanted just the date hand engraving onto the marker.

Now, it has to be said, that I love hand engraving. There is something really pleasing about gouging out the metal, from a highly polished surface, leaving a beautiful bright cut engraving. This is the sort of finish that a machine just can't replicate. God, I hate those machine engravers with a passion. The quality of line that a machine leaves is just so poor.

So, I simply rub some modelling clay (plasticene) over the shiny metal. This leaves a greasy film over the metal. Then with a crisp 0.3mm mechanical pencil, I draw the lettering on. The pencil line, stands out brilliantly on the greasy surface. If I make a mistake with the pencil, I simply rub my finger over the surface and start again.

Once I am happy with my artwork (it can easily be brushed off by mistake, so great care is now required not to accidentally smudge it). I then clamp th epiece in my ball vice and engrave away by hand. (For those who know the skill, I am a pusher, I don't use an air engraver)

So, this is the result of a young lady treating her future hubby to a little bit of luxury, just god help him if he loses it in the club house.

If you'd like to order one as well, please click here to visit my shop.

hand engraved money clip.

Really pleased with how this commission turned out. I have started hand engraving, having been practicing for ages. It is the kind of skill that requires methodical practice.

I am now finding it devilishly difficult to photograph, as the engraving is "bright" cut and the metal itself is highly polished. It is hard enough at the bestof times to take a picture of a piece of jewellery, but it is even harder when you are trying to capture the delicate engraved lines as well.

I shall continue to improve on the photos so that you can see the detail more clearly.

Frankie's footprint pendant

Stephanie came to see me and commissioned this little pendant. A permanent reminder of her son Frankie.

I was honoured to undertake such a commission and to provide a pendant just as Stephanie wanted it.

Personalised silver ring with hearts.

A recent commission in sterling silver.

An oxidised inscription sits inside the ring with the outer edge covered shoulder to shoulder in tiny hearts.

9k gold pendant

A recent commission in 9k gold for Pamela. The inner hoop is in a hammered finish in 9k red gold. The outer loop and bail are in 9k yellow gold annd both polished.

Pamela came into to see me to discuss the design and the relevant sizes and scale of the piece.

Fingerprint cuff links witha wee heart.

Mrs Silverton popped into my shop with her two lovely kids. They each did a fingerprint and I added a wee heart to each. Then I made these unique sterling silver cuff links for Mr Silverton.

I recently had an e-mail from a chap, who received a similar unique gift from his better half. In his words "I have thrown all my other cuff links in the bin, as I'll never wear a different set"

It is such a nice part of my job, hearing back from clients, and how much they have enjoyed giving or receiving the items.

Child's drawing onto cuff links.

I love my job as I get asked to make all sorts of special commissions. Here a child's drawings of a cat and mouse were hand engraved onto some cuff links that I made for the purpose.

I'm going to do so more like this soon, so keep popping back to have a look.

Fingerprint Rings

Been away from the blog for a spell. Just hectic with work and with the family, but I am back to my old routie, so a little time to spend blogging.

Here is my latest creation. I take the clients fingerprint and using some special magic, I make a ring using their unique mark.

I can make these rings to any given width and in any metal. Silver, gold, palladium or platinum. The golds, I can make it in white, yellow or red gold.

Newsletter Winners....

On the 19th January, I posted this thread offering all newsletter subscribers the chance to win one of three rings that were up for grabs

The draw took place the other day and the three winners are

Heather Purvis
Claire Shearer
Amanda Cusick

They have all been contacted, and I am awaiting their instructions as to how they would like their ring personalised.

Each ring is made in sterling silver to their given ring size and a short quote is added.

Each and every time I run such a prize draw, I include anyone on my newsletter mailing list. So for your chance to win on the next draw (which will be announced later this week) simply sign your self up for my newsletter.

Custom personalised cuff links.

I am now offering custom cuff links in sterling silver for that special present.

You can have any wording or date in any font (Space allowing). Or you can have some artwork. There really is no limits to what is possible.

Perfect gifts on the wedding day for the groom, best man or father's.

They typically take 2-3 weeks to make.

You can buy them from my Etsy shop

www.chrisparry.etsy.com




Shown here area more traditional monogram pair of cuff links on a rectangular shield.

As these are made from scratch, you can actually have any shape shiled and personalise them in any way.

If you have any questions then please drop me a line

Mensa ® Signet Ring.

A "Mensa®" Signet Ring.

For those who aren't aware of the Mensa® organization. It is an exclusive club for those with a high I.Q.

You have to pass a test to prove that you are somewhere in the region of the upper 5% with regards to your I.Q.

I was commissioned to make this signet ring, carrying the Mensa® logo. Mensa® is a registered trademark so permission will be required for work of this kind.

It is made in sterling silver and to the specifications of the client. A wonderful gentleman living in Spain

Custom made cuff links with your own design.

Here is a recent commission for a pair of "Moles" Rugby cuff links.

A local Rugby club in Gravesend celebrating 10 years.

I can make cuff links in any shape and with any artwork requirement on the front.

So if you would like to turn your child's drawing, a company logo, a sports club badge or perhaps a hand written note into a special pair of cuff links, please drop me a line.

Personalised Ring Stands.

New Ring Stands Now For Sale

I am pleased to bring you these personalised ring stands.

You can find full details by clicking HERE

They can be personalised with your own logo or name. A fabulous idea for those who display their goods at craft shows, galleries, shops or simply want an eye catching stand for their photos.

New Design

Round Sqaure

Here is a new design. Shown here with a 0.10ct (3mm) diamond set in 18k white gold.

I can make this design to suit any budget, so if you would like a smaller/larger diamond, just let me know.

There is also a matching wedding band.

Wedding rings don't have to be round !

Just because you are getting married, doesn't mean that you have to settle for the regular round wedding band.

Sure, they are right for some, but others want a little bit of individuality.

Here is a great example. Made in 18k white gold, this ring's unusual shape was actually driven by the shape of the engagement ring.

So if you need or are looking for something a little bit ore individual, then track down a friendly local jeweller who can make you something from scratch, exactly as you want it.

$105 giveaway. Three prizes worth $35 each.

I am offering THREE prizes worth $35 (£22) each. Shipping of the prizes is also free.

This is for one of my stackable personalised silver rings.

Click HERE for more details.

Each winner will receive one ring made to their given ring size and personalised with their own inscription.

The free to enter prize draw will be open to anyone signing up for my NEWSLETTER before 24th Feb 2009.


The draw will take place 12 noon 24th Feb 2009.

The winners will be notified and the rings made and shipped within a few days, once instructions are received.

The newsletter is nothing more than a monthly e-mail which will highlight brand new designs, recent bespoke commissions and special offers for Newsletter subscribers.

I promise to never sell or pass on your contact details in any way.

So simply click HERE and sign-up for your chance to win one of THREE prizes.