Engraving and Etching for Jewellers

Create beautifully decorated silverwork using two of the most traditional and expressive surface techniques in jewellery making - hand engraving and acid etching.

What is the Engraving and Etching for Jewellers Course?

Our Engraving and Etching for Jewellers Course explores two of the most rewarding ways to add pattern and detail to metal. You’ll learn the principles behind both techniques, why they produce similar results and why etching can offer a more accessible route to the same visual outcome as engraving.

This is a skills-focused course built around practice and understanding – but rather than working on throwaway sample plates, you’ll develop your techniques on pieces designed to be worn so you leave with work you’ll enjoy wearing.

What will I make during the course?

You’ll work in both silver and copper, building your skills across a series of practice pieces designed to function as wearable objects - pendants or decorative plate work that showcases the techniques you’ve developed. Each piece becomes a record of your progress and a finished item in its own right.

Course Schedule

• Introduction to engraving and etching - principles, similarities and differences
• How to grind, shape and sharpen your own engraving tools
• Cutting straight lines - control, pressure and rhythm
• Progressing to curves and more complex line work
• Transposing a design onto metal for both engraving and etching
• Etching techniques as an alternative approach to the same decorative outcomes
• Finishing and integrating decorated elements into wearable pieces

What will I learn?

By the end of the course, you’ll have developed skills and understanding in:

• The principles of hand engraving and how to approach it methodically
• How to grind, shape and sharpen your own engravers
• Cutting clean lines in metal, progressing from straight to curved
• Acid etching as a technique and how it relates to engraved results
• Transferring and transposing designs accurately onto metal
• Working in both silver and copper
• Integrating decorated surfaces into finished, wearable pieces