The jewelry industry in the United States generated $30 billion in 2011, according to industry reports published by First Research. Online jewelry shopping flourished, as did those jewelers and manufacturers who developed strong social media strategies through which to promote their products. One of the main trends identified in the study was the popularity of quality, high-value pieces like diamond engagement rings and designer jewelry, which was seen to be driving industry growth. This resulted in a search by jewelry manufacturers to find exciting new ideas for individual pieces, such as the customization of items through the laser engraving of jewelry with unique patterns.
Engraving on jewelry has progressed from old, traditional methods to the newest, non-contact laser engraving jewelry systems. An abrasion-resistant process, this type of laser engraving can be performed on gold, platinum, silver, brass, stainless steel, carbide, copper, titanium, aluminum and a variety of other alloys. Modern laser marking machines can engrave the marks far more deeply and inconspicuously into the metal than in the past, which makes them difficult to locate or to remove.
A wedding band can now be laser marked with a section of text taken from the couple’s marriage vows and laser engraved on the inner surface of the rings, or a bracelet can be laser engraved with a poem. The non-contact jewelry laser engraving technique is capable of producing multiple lines of text at any size without causing abrasion or damage to the piece. This fast and clean laser engraving technology for jewelry can also customize pieces by adding a photo or image to a suitable section of the item.
While this new laser engraving jewelry technology is valuable in creating new designs, the technology is also useful for other purposes. For example, jewelers can engrave copyright on custom designs, ensuring that they can prove their claim in case of it being imitated. In addition, the jewelry laser engraving technology makes identification of valuable items possible, by laser marking them with a unique serial number or a barcode before they leave the manufacturer. With the current high levels of crime, stolen items carrying unique identification that are recovered can now be traced back to the owner through the laser marks and the manufacturer’s records.
The laser engraving technique for jewelry is produced using a controllable laser pulse, which operates at a rate that can be adjusted from a continuous wave to a single pulse. Cylindrical items such as wedding bands, rings and bracelets are placed on a rotary motion device, which enables even exposure to the laser pulse as it rotates. The technology produces clean, legible laser engraving on the jewelry that requires little or no polishing at the end of the process.
The laser engraving system comes with laser marking software that seamlessly coordinates all systems used in the process. The CAD2 laser marking application has a graphic user interface that is windows-compatible, and includes a library of True Type fonts, barcode and 2-D data matrixes, vector graphics and images. The laser marking software can be set to automatically generate date, time and shift codes for automated production environments.
The design, copyright and identification benefits presented by laser engraving technology to jewelry manufacturers promise to be strategic choices for the future of the industry. With many jewelers looking for ways to “change lanes” in 2012, laser engraving offers several options. John Brassem, director of a multichannel retailing and international product sourcing firm, said in an article in the National Jeweler that he has no doubt that thinking outside the box has made some jewelers wealthy. He also believes it has helped to lead others out from under the pressures of managing a store in a difficult economy. Laser engraving is just one more profit center available to those in the jewelry market place.
For more information on laser engraving jewelry, contact LaserStar Technologies today.