This morning, I engraved the silver ring. It is based on the Kingmoor ring, I'm using marker pen for emphasis, but ink or oxidation can be used. I've already cut the channels, with a graver and a file, which is harder than the modern method of paying somebody to diamond-mill them

I engraved the first symbol so that I had a fixed point to work from, then used compasses to divide the ring into cells. The letter spacing isn't that simple, but the cells meant that I could spread them evenly around the ring. I used a bit of maths, but trial & error also works

After maybe an hour, I was done, and ground off the black. As you can see, the ring looks very rough, so it needs to be 'finished'. Finishing is a broad term, and in the modern workshop, typically means 'polished', but really, it's any intentional surface.

In the early medieval period, files would have been quite coarse, so most of the finishing is done with abrasive materials (left), or scrapers and burnishers (right). A wealth of abrasives exist - minerals, ceramics, charcoal, depending on what was available in that region.

The completed ring. This is a gift for someone who has helped us set up the workshop, but if you're interested in commissioning an item of jewellery, ancient or modern, you can contact me on here, or via our website:

http://www.jamiehalljewellery.co.uk/