Unlike some retailers of silver and gold, part of why we stand out is not only our extensive offerings that continue to expand, but our ability to take personalization to the next level. We have been doing this for years in the form of engraving. Around almost as long as the introduction of our very own custom silver minting facility, the option to engrave has been a key player in our ability to keep SilverTowne on every silver bullion collector’s mind.
With our 75th anniversary happening this year, we continue to introduce to you, department by department, what makes our small town, big business operation tick.
Carol – Engraver
It is hard to fathom spending half a person’s lifetime at the same place of employment, but that is certainly the case for several of our employees here at SilverTowne. This includes Carol, a 28-year veteran that has spent the last 19 of those years sitting at the engraving machine. However, engraving has been around just as long as she has.
“Before I took over, the engraver was in the jewelry department,” Carol said. “Andy (Abel) would come in after school and engrave anything that needed to be shipped out. During the day, the girls in the jewelry department would do it. Once Andy graduated, it was moved into the sports department that we used to have with Pam (Reinbold). I took it over from her.”
SilverTowne has been using the same brand of diamond tip needle engraving machine since the beginning (with upgraded machines of course). The diamond tip needle allows the troy weight of the silver bullion to be maintained as no silver is removed in the engraving process. The machine is unique and certainly different from the laser machines you see elsewhere, but it acts as an employee all the same as it has been a staple for nearly 30 years.
“Most dealers don’t offer what we do, and retailers don’t offer engraving,” Carol stated. “That is what sets up apart from other coin shops and online bullion places.”
Engraving offers our customers the ability to personalize just about everything from our special occasion silver bullion. Instead of just buying an investment piece for someone, upgrade to a unique and specific occasion like a birthday, graduation, anniversary, holiday, and more. Add custom engraving in addition to all special packaging options and you have a gift worth remembering.
“Personalization adds a lot,” Carol said. “It adds ownership and the ability to always know and remember who and where it came from. It goes from being a gift purchase to a keepsake, and customers always remember that sort of thing regardless of if they were the giver or the giftee.”
When it comes to engraving, here are the most important details:
- MOST silver special occasion pieces are engravable.
- Choose from four different font styles, including Block, Script, Contemporary, and Victoria.
- Engrave up to 40 characters, including spaces.
- $5/engraving
However, a few words of advice from our expert (Carol): the more characters you use, the smaller your message appears on the chosen design. It seems like a simple concept to wrap your mind around, but sometimes customers get excited and forget how these messages will appear on the final product. In addition, Carol also suggests using the “less is more” mantra.
“Dates and names are always best,” she stated. “Just keep it short and sweet and know that Block and Contemporary is MUCH easier to read when using less characters. As stunning as Script is, customers want to use it when engraving these long messages and it’s just not possible.”
One of the things that has also boosted the engraving side of our business is the addition of logo engraving. We have had this option for about three years now, and businesses love it.
“Our corporate engraving has really expanded in the last year to year and a half,” Carol said. “Our customer base has grown because of it as well. We are breaking records every year with the number of engravings.”
Priced at $8/engraving, logo engraving allows a substitute for text. However, the process is very different. Logo engravings can ONLY be ordered through email as back and forth correspondence is needed for images, customization, and artwork conversions (if a logo cannot be supplied as requested).
Throughout the year, Carol experiences a few different “busy seasons,” but that goes without saying anymore, busy season is all year round with the expansion of our offerings.
“March/April through about June we experience heavier engraving orders due to religious events like Easter, baptisms, and confirmations, and then there are graduations. The other one is Christmas, which believe it or not starts in August and ends in December. Our collection is released mid-July. Engraving gets really, really busy around October and November. My biggest piece of advice is start your Christmas shopping early!”
For anything custom, contact Carol, our engraving specialist, via phone (765) 305-0255 or email carol.stapleton@silvertowne.com
