Asian Character Engraving? (wedding band question)

[Adrienne]

Does anyone know of a reputable jeweler who engraves asian (Thai) characters on the outside of gold bands, or maybe even has a catalog of such things?

I''ve been to www.ringdesigner.com - which is a great place and I have read great things about them during my times on this board, but we are really trying to do the budget route and was hoping that someone knew of a jeweler who might sell these rings in a more "stock" kind of way (instead of special order).

We are doing inexpensive bands for the first year while we build our emergency savings and do a kitchen remodel. During that time I will also be diverting the money that would have gone towards my rent and throwing it into a jewelry savings account... at our 1-year anniversary there should be enough in that account to make the purchase of a nice diamond ring easier to handle!

So for now we need a nice wedding band idea, we got a diamond channel set band for the engagement ring (yeah, a little backwards!) and might end up doing 18k gold bands - but I''d like something a little more interesting then that!

 

[denverappraiser]

Adrienne,

I''ve seen customers do pretty well with engraving both Japanese and Arabic using a hand engraver who doesn''t speak a lick of either. The engraver just treats it like he''s engraving a picture. Some of these people are amazing. You have to give a clear illustration of what it is intended to look like and it''s sometimes helpful if you can speak with the engraver in person in order to explain the attributes that are important that may not be obvious at first examination. This is, of course, assuming that you can write Thai yourself.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[Adrienne]

Thanks Neil - so I should be able to purchase a gold band and have a hand engraver take care of it? Any tips on how to locate a good engraver locally?

I don''t speak Thai, but my fiance''s family is Thai. His cousin is in the country for a few months and can help to come up with the proper phrasing/character styling.

He''s all excited, the rings would have a Lord of the Rings look to them and he thinks that is just cool!

 

[denverappraiser]

Find the engraver first because there are some variables about the thickness, metal alloy and such that are likely to be important to them in order to get the best results. Most will be able to sell you an appropriate ring and the difference in price from what you can get elsewhere will be nominal.

If you''re in a big city they will advertise in the local phone book as hand engravers. It''s kind of an unusual skill so small towns don''t normally have one. They also often have relationships with the trophy shops and jewelry stores. The big online jewelry houses have got relationships with engravers as well. It''s pretty common for the process of custom design to require some pretty involved engraving work. I know Whiteflash has a first rate engraver in their custom department and I would expect most of the others that sell custom designs will have one as well.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver