Engraved boxes & keepsake tins

A box is kept, which is the whole argument for engraving one. The lid is the surface people read, so that is where a name and a date go; the inside is where a longer message usually works better, because it is private and only found on opening.

On wood the laser burns into the grain. On tinplate it marks the metal beneath the coating, which matters on a lid that gets opened and closed — exactly where a printed design wears through first.

Boxes are the usual choice for a gift that has to hold something else: a ring, a watch, a set of cufflinks. Tell us what is going in it and we will say whether it fits.