Engraving Through The Ages.

Engraving has a rich and enchanting history which dates back through millennia. Engraving is the act of etching or carving written words or images into hard or semi hard surfaces resulting in an etched piece of work that is resistant to most forms of wear and tear. 

Prehistoric Rock Engravings (From 30,000 BCE) are the earliest known form of engraving and featured basic yet captivating etchings of animals and humans on the face of rock walls located in caves.  This places the first known roots of engraving to at least 32,000 years ago. Many of the engravings were done with the use of stones formed in the shape of chisels and blades which were then repeatedly dragged back and forth to carve out the desired images.

In 1446, music was engraved onto plates and involved the use of engraving to punch and embed the scores and notes into them. Most plates were made from pewter and copper and allowed errors of engraving to be burnished out and replaced with ease. There are many materials that can be used for engraving from stone, wood and metals and with each having its own strong points.

In the modern world, hand engraving made a comeback in the middle of the twentieth century. Of course, the equipment used was much more sophisticated and they introduction of pneumatic hand engraving tools made the whole process much faster and more precise. Hand engraving was seen as an artform and up until the 1970's, it was seen as something to keep secret.

As we stepped into the first 5 years of the 21st century, the introduction of laser engraving was introduced to the market. This allowed precision lasering of glass to place an image or text in the centre of a solid glass block or sphere. Laser engraving is now one of the most utilised methods of engraving used due to its high levels of accuracy, clean and clear definition and the speed at which it can be completed.

There are also many variations of the types of tools used for engraving from manual hand tools to automated, robotic machinery that can mass produce engraved objects at an industrial standard. Many jewellers provide engraving services so that people can have messages etched into rings and pendants. These are usually created by hand and use pneumatic hand tools to help with precision.

While it may appear to be something that is easy to do, engraving is a trade that requires skill, a careful eye for detail and a steady hand. In London in the 1700's - 1800's, engraving was big business and many traders took on apprentices to train and pass their knowledge to. By the 1980's engraving as a career choice started to decline due to the introduction of machinery used to automate the process fully.

Nowadays, it is as easy as uploading the text or image you want to have engraved, select its depth and size and pressing a button. Most modern laser engravers can complete up to 90 characters per minute, this further increases the decline of engraving as a trade as man cannot compete with the speed or precision offered by machinery.

For many, the use of a skilled hand engraver is still preferred as the attention to detail and effort put in make up for part of the value of the engraved object. Without engraving, many modern advances would not have happened and even much of today's technology relies on engraving to help set circuits and conductive metals in place.