Many engravers understandably felt threatened by machine engraving, as jewelers (who were a large portion of engravers’ clientele) and others bought their own machines to carry out the work traditionally performed by independent engravers. Many hand engravers, upon finding out one of their customers had bought a pantograph, would retaliate against that customer by completely cutting off their engraving services and refusing to perform any work at all for that person. In turn, this attitude encouraged people to buy more pantographs, rather than put up with surly engravers who held grudges and were hastening their own demise.
Another reason for the decline of hand engraving was a change in the goods available. As mass production became commonplace in the United States, objects that had traditionally been engraved began to be made out of non-precious metal alloys and plated materials. Engravers, who had long performed their trade on easy-to-engrave precious metals such as gold and silver, now had to contend with harder and chewier metals that were not conducive to hand engraving. Hand engravers found they were not always able to engrave a customer’s “costume jewelry,” further encouraging the sales of pantographs, which could often engrave what a hand engraver could not. This trend picked up after 1947, the year New Hermes introduced its diamond drag engraving tool.
Although these factors all contributed largely to a decline of hand engraving in North America, there are still people who know and practice the art. Hand engravers are more rare these days, but they still exist and can engrave beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces for those who want them.
So the next time you pick up a cutter, change a dull bit, or sit down to your laser engraving machine, think about those who’ve gone before you in time. You’re continuing a tradition that’s been used all over the world since the dawn of civilization — a tradition that not only brings beauty into the world, but one that leaves behind a legacy of history for the future.