We are increasingly asked by customers, whom have never owned a hand engraved seal ring in the past, how to differentiate between a hand engraved seal ring and one produced by modern technology. With a growing band of websites advertising 'Family Crest Seal Rings Hand Engraved by a Master Craftsman' when in fact some of these rings are mass produced using laser, acid or casting methods, understandably customers can be left confused, and sometimes mislead, as to whether the seal ring they are purchasing is a genuine hand engraved seal ring.
Although the difference in price of a hand engraved seal ring and that of one produced by laser is minimal, there are customers who require a seal ring as a matter of urgency. As a true hand engraved seal ring can take up to 3 days to engrave then companies producing laser engraved seal rings are ideal. They can produce several seal rings in one day using laser or casting methods.
As mentioned, a true hand engraved seal ring can take up to 3 days to engrave and with the increasing demand for quality hand engraved rings the customer may have to wait 3 to 4 weeks for delivery of their ring. "After all it takes an artist painting the original picture longer than it does the printer to print out several copies of that painting" .
There are always slight differences in any item that has been made by hand and the same can be said of hand engraved seals. This however is the beauty and charm of true hand crafted products. Remember a seal engraver is working in fractions of a millimetre. The lettering within a motto will never be truly uniform in depth or shape when engraved by hand. Two 'O's within a motto will not appear 'exactly' the same when scrutinised under a microscope. Only a letter punch or machine can produce this uniformity. Two unicorns on either side of a shield will never be 'exactly' the same, there will always be a slight difference between the two. A single hair on the mane of one unicorn may be slightly deeper or at a different angle to the other or the muscles on the neck slightly bolder. "This is how your seal ring will be judged as authentically hand engraved by the antique experts of the future."
At Thomas Flack Engravers we can assure our customers that all our seal engraving has been hand engraved to the highest quality. We will never demean our craft by using mass production methods or forsake our integrity and hard earned reputation for quality by advertising a machine produced ring as such.
If you require a true hand engraved seal ring but are a little unsure as to whether the company producing your ring is truly hand engraving it, then ask the company you are dealing with to send photographs of the stages of your ring being engraved. I see no reason why any true hand engraving company committed to customer satisfaction cannot do this. At Thomas Flack Engravers we do this often. There are some truly talented seal engravers left in Britain today and most do not have large websites but i am sure they will be more than happy to assure their customers that their seal ring is being entirely hand engraved by doing this. We realise that seal rings are not cheap and a customer may have saved for months to purchase one of our seal rings and we think it not only an excellent way of showing our customers that their seal ring is authentically hand engraved but our customers are thrilled to see the various stages of their seal ring being engraved.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and i hope it has been of help to any customer requiring a true Hand Engraved seal ring. Please enjoy the products and engravings on our website with the assurance that all of our products are truly Hand Engraved.
Thomas Flack
