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Bracelet, necklace and locket engraving ideas

Engraving ideas for a bracelet, bar necklace, disc or locket, sorted by how many characters fit, with one engraver's published limits for each shape.

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Engraved jewellery holds very little. A small disc takes about eight characters, a bar about fifteen, and a locket two to four very short lines. That decides the message before taste does: a name, a date, initials, or two or three words.

So start from the shape. The ideas below are grouped by how much room they need, and the number after each is its length in characters with spaces counted. A slash marks the start of a new line.

How much each shape holds

One engraver, Engravers Guild of London, sets a limit in the order form of each piece read for this guide, and gives the size of most of them in the description. These are its figures for those pieces. Another jeweller’s may differ, so use them as a rough guide to what a shape can take.

PieceSizeLimit on the form
Disc on a bracelet15 mm acrossOne line of 8 characters
Flat name plate on an ID braceletNot givenOne line of 14
Bar on a man’s cord braceletNot givenOne line of 15
Baby’s bangle5 mm wideOne line of 14
Tag pendant18 mm by 6 mmOne line of 10
Heart pendant15 mm by 15 mmOne line of 9
Heart locket on a bracelet14 mm by 16 mmTwo lines: 8 and 6
Dog tag locket14 mm by 20 mmThree lines of 9
Round pendant20 mm acrossFour lines: 8, 12, 12 and 8
Oval locket24 mm by 16 mmFour lines: 6, 10, 10 and 6
Round medal pendant26 mm acrossThree lines: 8, 10 and 8

Three things to take from it:

  • Eight characters is the safe length. It fits every piece in the table, on its longest line. “Florence” fits. “Charlotte” does not fit the disc.
  • Round and oval pieces have short first and last lines. Put the long words in the middle.
  • A longer name needs a bar or a plate. Choose the piece to suit the name, not the other way round.

If your piece is from another seller, look for the limit on its order form, or ask. If you already own the piece, measure the flat area and take it to an engraver; Engravers Guild of London engraves only what it sells and offers one engraving per item as standard, so other firms’ terms are worth asking about too.

Dates and places in a small space

  • A date in eight characters. 30 August 2026 shortens to “30.08.26” (8). With more room it can be “30 Aug 2026” (11) or, on a bar, “XXX.VIII.MMXXVI” (15). Day and month swap places between Britain and America when a date is all numbers, so use the month’s name if there is any doubt.
  • Coordinates need two lines. Latitude goes first and longitude second, each with its letter. Stonehenge is at 51.1789° N, 1.8261° W, which engraves on the two middle lines of a locket as “51.1789 N / 1.8261 W” (9 / 8). It will not fit a disc. Check your numbers on a map: the first is never more than 90.
  • Initials. “L.M.H.” (6) fits anything, and a single letter fits more gracefully still.

Up to 8 characters: discs and small hearts

  • “Loved” (5)
  • “My girl” (7)
  • “Be you” (6)
  • “Mama” (4)
  • “Nana” (4)
  • “Lucky” (5)
  • “Wild one” (8)
  • “Bestie” (6)
  • “Us two” (6)
  • “Hope” (4)
  • “Day one” (7)
  • “I did it” (8)
  • “Survivor” (8)
  • “You + me” (8)

Up to 15 characters: bars, plates and bangles

  • “Fierce and kind” (15)
  • “Love you more” (13)
  • “Keep going” (10)
  • “You’ve got this” (15)
  • “Day by day” (10)
  • “Mama bear” (9)
  • “Braver each day” (15)
  • “Made of stars” (13)
  • “Begin again” (11)
  • “My own hero” (11)
  • “Isla 12.04.26” (13)

An ID bracelet

An ID bracelet has a front and a back. The name goes on the front, where everyone sees it, and the message on the back, against the skin.

  • Front: “JAMES” (5). Back: “Love always, Mum” (16)
  • Front: “Lily” (4). Back: “Sweet sixteen” (13)
  • Front: “Pops” (4). Back: “From all of us” (14)

Ask whether the back can be engraved before you plan for it. This is jewellery to wear for its own sake. An ID that carries medical information follows different rules: ask the organisation that issues it, or your doctor, what it should say.

For a boyfriend or a girlfriend

  • “Yours, Lily” (11)
  • “Come back to me” (15)
  • “Mine since 2021” (15)
  • “My safe place” (13)
  • “Taken” (5)
  • “Hers” (4)
  • “My best girl” (12)
  • “Loved by Jack” (13)
  • “Always your fan” (15)

For a daughter

  • “Daddy’s girl” (12)
  • “Loved, Mum x” (12)
  • “Dream big” (9)
  • “Fly, little bird” (16)
  • “Our Lily” (8)

For a mother or a grandmother

Children’s names and initials are the classic choice, one disc or one line for each.

  • “E + M + R” (9)
  • “Ava & Noah” (10)
  • “Mum of three” (12)
  • “My reasons why” (14)

For a friend

  • “Soul sister” (11)
  • “Ride or die” (11)
  • “Side by side” (12)
  • A pair, one each: “Miles apart” (11) and “Close at heart” (14)

In memory of someone

  • “Still with me” (13)
  • “Love you, Nan” (13)
  • “Held in my heart” (16)
  • “Your hand in mine” (17)
  • “Mum, 1951 to 2025” (17)
  • “Run free, Bella” (15)
  • “Good boy, Max” (13)

On a locket, the dates and a few words can share the four lines. This layout fits the oval locket in the table: “Mum / 1951 2025 / with me / always” (3 / 9 / 7 / 6).

Words are not the only choice here. Engravers Guild of London sells pieces engraved from a real fingerprint, taken with its kit or from “a clear photograph of an existing fingerprint”, and it lists handwriting jewellery as well. A few words in a person’s own hand can say more than any phrase.

For a traveller

  • “Go safely” (9)
  • “Safe home” (9)
  • “Bon voyage” (10)
  • “Wherever you roam” (17)

Verses by reference

A reference fits where the verse cannot. These are from the King James Bible, checked against the text.

EngravingLengthThe wordsSuits
“Gen. 31:49”10“The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another”Two people apart
“Gen. 28:15”10“I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest”A traveller
“Psalm 139:14”12“I am fearfully and wonderfully made”A daughter
“Prov. 31:29”11“Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all”A mother
“Isaiah 43:1”11“I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine”A christening
“Psalm 34:18”11“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart”In memory
“1 Cor. 16:14”12“Let all your things be done with charity”Anyone

Leave song lyrics, film lines and modern poems out. They belong to their writers, and none of them fits on a disc.

Inside a locket

A locket’s outside is engraved, and its inside holds pictures: the lockets in the table each hold two photos. Put the fact on the outside, a name or a date, and let the photos do the rest.

A picture or a symbol

For artwork, Engravers Guild of London asks for “a high-contrast black and white image (i.e. with no shading, grey or gradation of colour)”. On something 15 mm across that means one plain shape. The free library has many that are drawn solid and simple: a heart, a star, a moon, a butterfly, a feather, a paw print, an infinity sign, an initial from the letter sets and the twelve signs in the zodiac set. Ask the engraver whether they accept a file before you count on it.

If you own a laser, anodised aluminium tags are the easy way to make engraved pendants and key tags yourself: laser engraving metal explains why a hobby laser marks them and not bare silver or steel. Plotcaster turns a photo into dots for a tag or a wooden keepsake box.

Questions

What should I engrave on a bracelet for my boyfriend? His name or initials on the front and a short line from you on the back, if the bracelet has two sides. On a single bar, a date or three words.

How many letters fit on a bar necklace? On the forms read for this guide, 10 on a tag pendant 18 mm long, and 14 or 15 on the plates and bars of bracelets. Check your own seller’s form.

What do you write on a locket? A name, a date or initials outside, in lines of six to ten characters. The photos go inside.

Can both sides be engraved? Sometimes. Engravers Guild of London offers one engraving per item as standard and asks customers to get in touch for more.

Script or plain lettering? The forms read here offer three: a script, Times and a sans serif. Ask for a preview, and pick the one you can read at arm’s length.

Sources