Show us your wax seals

[pmorin]

My recent seal from Dexter Rings and Seal Engraving (and I'm planning another):

 

Kavionne -

Was that a custom seal? And is it flat engraving or 3-dimensional (looks 3-dimensional). I have a family crest that I've been thinking of having made into a seal, and this is tipping the balance. I'm headed over to the site to look at their costs - but it looks like a beautiful seal.

 

edited to add: Apologies - should have looked at the website first where it plainly states deep engraving. Beautiful products.

Edited August 29, 2009 by pmorin

[dashreeve]

I am a little jealous of the Dexter seals here..They are pricey but SOOOO beautiful!

FPN always has someone come up with an idea that has me snapping photos of something (pens, desk, now seals....)

My wife works Fri-Sun, so I write her a love note each day so she can have it ready to read at dinner when she gets home each night. I happened to get another order of Atelier Gargoyle wax today, so her love letter got two "test" seals as well.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z185/dashreeve/DSC_00012.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z185/dashreeve/DSC_00022.jpg

[kiavonne]

Kavionne -

Was that a custom seal? And is it flat engraving or 3-dimensional (looks 3-dimensional). I have a family crest that I've been thinking of having made into a seal, and this is tipping the balance. I'm headed over to the site to look at their costs - but it looks like a beautiful seal.

 

edited to add: Apologies - should have looked at the website first where it plainly states deep engraving. Beautiful products.

 

 

No apologies needed. Yes, deep 3D engraved and a seal custom to my specs that I shall have for all my time. It really is amazing the detail they can put on such a small surface, and all hand engraved. I'm still in awe, even as I've just placed my second seal order.

 

 

 

I am a little jealous of the Dexter seals here..They are pricey but SOOOO beautiful!

FPN always has someone come up with an idea that has me snapping photos of something (pens, desk, now seals....)

My wife works Fri-Sun, so I write her a love note each day so she can have it ready to read at dinner when she gets home each night. I happened to get another order of Atelier Gargoyle wax today, so her love letter got two "test" seals as well.

 

 

You, sir, are going to be married for a very, very long time. What a cool thing to do.

Edited August 29, 2009 by kiavonne

[tfwall]

I am a little jealous of the Dexter seals here..They are pricey but SOOOO beautiful!

 

They do excellent work and are very accommodating to your desires.

 

If you legitimately have arms, they'll work to fastidiously duplicate them for you. Of course, if you don't, they'll do their best to make up some faux ones to your specifications.

 

I have some of their work in titanium and couldn't be happier. Service was good, engraving was excellent and turn around/shipping time was quite satisfactory.

[dashreeve]

I am a little jealous of the Dexter seals here..They are pricey but SOOOO beautiful!

 

They do excellent work and are very accommodating to your desires.

 

If you legitimately have arms, they'll work to fastidiously duplicate them for you. Of course, if you don't, they'll do their best to make up some faux ones to your specifications.

 

I have some of their work in titanium and couldn't be happier. Service was good, engraving was excellent and turn around/shipping time was quite satisfactory.

 

But I would have to choose between the seal and a new 146 or Optima......I have to go with the pen.

[ZeissIkon]

But I would have to choose between the seal and a new 146 or Optima......I have to go with the pen.

 

Get the Seal and a Hero copy of the 146...

[kiavonne]

But I would have to choose between the seal and a new 146 or Optima......I have to go with the pen.

 

 

Yes, this can be a dilemma. Until you hit your favoured pen threshhold that is. I've recently found myself to be happy and content with the pens I have acquired (and the two custom DaniTrios inbound), and so I am now putting emphasis into my overall writing environment. I now have an antique writing desk and chair, some vintage wrought iron candle sconces and an inkwell, and now some other desk items to complete my own personal writing space. So, the Dexter seals are not antique, but they will be my seals and last a lifetime - or maybe even two or three after I'm gone.

[dashreeve]

That's a good point, maybe I'll ask my wife for one for Birthday or Christmas.

[Skyppere]

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r315/skyppere/DSC_0786.jpg

 

Three "chops" - the large one I got in San Francisco's Chinatown, the oval one was given to me by my brother when he was living in taiwan. The teensy plastic one I got on the internet. When I was in Japan with a group of fountain pen enthusiasts we went to the Nakaya store/factory and while there a package was delivered and the receptionist pulled out what was about half the size of a pez dispenser, flipped the top and stamped the order with her 'signature.' All of us went "Whoa!" I had to have one. Unfortunately the stores that carried them, I couldn't find an English speaker and the stores where I could find an English speaker, didn't carry them. Hence resorting to the internet.

 

The wax seals are lots of fun. The red one is the Welsh Dragon. Hard to see and hard to see in person... an Irish shamrock (My ancestors came from Wales and from Ireland and the purple one is of a quill pen and inkwell.

 

These are wax but I have some others that I haven't tried out yet, from Atelier which are exceptionally durable. The box that they were sent in came with one of their seals on it and the postal carrier remarked how it hadn't gotten damaged in transit. (I'm looking forward to trying theirs as soon as the wax ones are used up.)

 

ALWAYS FUN! Thanks for this topic, Rena.

 

cheers

skyppere

[pen2paper]

Craig,

Great! I look forward to your pictures! I would like more antique seals too. The middle seal in my photo is supposedly Georgian, but I have no way of authenticating the date other than to acknowledge that it looks old. It is, however, the most difficult to use because I have to remember to apply just a shallow pool of wax or else the rough edges (above the bloodstone seal part) stick to the wax and make a mess when I lift it off after making the impression. Several years ago I passed up the chance to bid on e-bay for a vintage seal out of red carnelian with my actual initials on it. I don't know what was wrong with me that I was feeling so frugal that day, since the opportunity will never come along again, and the seal went for far less than I've paid for any one of my pens... My biggest pen-related regret ever!!

http://www.heraldica.org/here.htm#common%20questions

if you look on the links page, you may find the info on your seal. I'd print it so you can match it to the references.

[Rena]

Kiavonne, your Dexter seal is exquisite — beautiful, beautiful photos!

 

Dashreeve, what a loving and romantic thing to do. You and your wife must have a beautiful relationship. Thank you for sharing this inspiring gesture.

 

Skyperre, I enjoyed your photo and the stories very much! Your seals are wonderful! The Welsh Dragon looks very similar to my one, but I can't quite tell on your photo. Maybe that is what mine is! I never know whether my small golden seal is a dragon or a big cat — it's kind of a "dragon cat." I like the drips of wax along with the seals in your photo — gives it a very real and immediate quality.

 

Pen2paper, thank you very much for the link! I looked around for a little while and see that I can get lost in there — the site is so deep with many layers of information. I will bookmark and explore the site some more later on. My seal has the words "je peux" engraved at the bottom, which is French for "I can," so I'm exploring the French heraldry section first off.

 

 

[hardyb]

Here is mine:

Edited August 31, 2009 by hardyb

[CraigR]

Craig,

Great! I look forward to your pictures! I would like more antique seals too. The middle seal in my photo is supposedly Georgian, but I have no way of authenticating the date other than to acknowledge that it looks old. It is, however, the most difficult to use because I have to remember to apply just a shallow pool of wax or else the rough edges (above the bloodstone seal part) stick to the wax and make a mess when I lift it off after making the impression. Several years ago I passed up the chance to bid on e-bay for a vintage seal out of red carnelian with my actual initials on it. I don't know what was wrong with me that I was feeling so frugal that day, since the opportunity will never come along again, and the seal went for far less than I've paid for any one of my pens... My biggest pen-related regret ever!!

 

Rena, what were the chances of finding a seal at auction with your exact initials and vintage too boot?

 

I am still researching what kind of personalized seal I would like to have made. We do not have a heraldic crest or family coat of arms. My father's mother was descended from 2 Pilgrims - John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley (John Tilley - father). My wife thinks I should adopt a seal depicting that lineage, but I think it is fairly well diluted by my paternal grandfather's side. But maybe. /Craig

[rogerb]

Here is mine:

I s'pose I could have that and call it 'Jolly Roger' (except he doesn't look too jolly )

 

I. too have just started to use wax ....don't have a seal yet, so I just use my ring, which fortunately has a symmetrical pattern. But it's a bit small. I was going to try a pic, but my digicam appears just to have died

The wax is a bit dull, but very flexible!

Lazarus Minolta has arisen! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/rogerb40uk/RedSeal.jpg

Edited August 31, 2009 by rogerb

[wykpenguin]

Here is mine:

 

A student of Yale? :hmm1:

[chud]

Here's what I have at the moment. None of these are especially fine or expensive; I may invest in a really nice one like Kiavonne's at some point, when funds are a little looser, but I haven't settled on a design yet. Sorry about the relatively poor photography - I'll try to do better when I have a little more time.

 

http://www.chud.net/~chd/images/seals.JPG

 

1. My main seal for letter use; this one is from a set of mass-produced seals that probably came from the 50s or 60s, I'd guess -- I inherited this one from my great-aunt (Charlotte, conveniently), so my fondness for it comes from its family connection rather than its intrinsic quality.

 

2. Another version of 1., somewhat differently cut, also from my great-aunt.

 

All the rest are eBay finds.

 

3. Bluebells, I think. Cute.

 

4. A nice little owl, though a little more deeply cut than the others, and requires a fair bit more wax.

 

5. This is probably the best craftsmanship of the seals I own, but also unfortunately the hardest to see in this picture - basically, you can't see anything of it. :-) It's fairly shallowly cut but with fine detail, and cut in a stone of some sort. I'm told it is most likely Arabic, one of the 99 names of God in the Qu'ran, as I recall.

 

6. A thistle, maybe? Cheapie, came in a set with 3 and 6.

 

7. A "D" from the same set as 1 and 2, but from eBay - picked it up just for fun when I saw it, but actually I just about never use this one.

Edited September 4, 2009 by chud

[froldt]

I made it a point yesterday to finish my search for some suitable materials for seal making. I ended up with three stones, which I will try and Dremel into seal-like shapes, following these instructions from instructables.com. Perhaps this weekend I'll have a chance to get some more done on this project.

[Anglofil]

If you are interested in the heraldic seals, why not design a coat of arms for yourself? Most countries do not regulate the use of heraldry, and most arms are assumed freely.

 

You might want to look at the forum of the American Heraldry Society.

[wykpenguin]

I made it a point yesterday to finish my search for some suitable materials for seal making. I ended up with three stones, which I will try and Dremel into seal-like shapes, following these instructions from instructables.com. Perhaps this weekend I'll have a chance to get some more done on this project.

 

If you happen to be able to get material for Chinese seals [stamps actually], you'll save yourself the trouble of using power tools. The rock is very soft and is carved using the corner of a small chisel like tool.

[Charlieboy]

Very nice indeed, great topic, just about to place an order for a 'Family Crest' via this website http://www.customwaxnseals.com/ they have plenty to chose from and can do custom designs...

 

 

Regards,

Charlieboy