What Is Inner Crystal Engraving?
- Ultimo V
- Aug 9
- 4 min read
You may have seen photographs seemingly floating inside a clear block of crystal and wondered how they get there.
It isn’t a print, a sticker or an image placed behind the crystal. The picture is actually engraved inside the crystal itself, while the outside remains completely smooth and clear.
The process is often called inner crystal engraving, subsurface engraving or 3D crystal engraving.
So how does it work?
A specialised laser is focused at precise points inside the crystal, rather than on its surface.
Each laser pulse creates a tiny point within the crystal. Thousands, and sometimes many thousands, of these individual points are placed together to build up the image.
Think of it a little like creating a picture from thousands of extremely small dots, except those dots are suspended at different depths inside a solid block of crystal.
Because the laser is focused internally, the outside surfaces of the crystal remain clear and untouched.
How does a photograph become an engraving?
This is where quite a bit happens before the crystal ever goes near the laser.
The photograph first needs to be prepared and cleaned up. The subject is separated from unnecessary background detail and the image is adjusted so that it will work well inside crystal.
For portrait engravings, the image can then be converted into a depth-based point cloud. This gives the engraving depth rather than simply producing a completely flat picture.
The finished result can have a really interesting 3D-style appearance. As you move around the crystal, different parts of the engraving catch the light and the depth becomes much easier to see.
It is worth mentioning that every photograph is different. A clear, well-lit photo with a good view of the subject will normally produce the best result.
What can be engraved inside a crystal?
It certainly doesn't have to be a formal portrait.
We can create crystals from all sorts of photographs and ideas, including:
Family photographs
Children and grandchildren
Couples and wedding photographs
Pets
Memorial photographs
Special occasions
Favourite memories
Names and messages
Designs created especially for you
If you have an idea but aren't sure whether the photograph will work, just send it to us and we can have a look.
What does the engraving actually look like?
In normal light, the engraving appears as a fine, pale image suspended inside the clear crystal.
The appearance changes depending on the light around it and the angle from which you view it. That is part of what makes these crystals so difficult to capture perfectly in a photograph.
In person, moving around the crystal lets you see the internal depth much more clearly.
We also make a point of showing real photographs of our finished crystals. We don't want to artificially make an engraving look dramatically brighter or more detailed than the product you will actually receive.
What does the LED base do?
The crystal can be displayed perfectly well on its own, but an optional colour-changing LED light base gives it a completely different appearance.
Light travels through the crystal and illuminates the thousands of tiny engraved points inside it, making the image stand out much more strongly.
Our bases are touch activated. Touching the illustrated button lets you move through the different colours, or you can select a mode where the colours continuously cycle automatically.
The base can be powered using:
3 × AAA batteries, which we include, or USB power using the supplied cable.
That means you can display it without a cable or leave it permanently powered by USB.
Is the engraving on the surface?
No.
This is probably the easiest way to understand what makes these different from conventional laser engraving.
With normal engraving, a laser marks or removes material from the surface.
With inner crystal engraving, the laser energy is focused inside the crystal. The photograph is therefore physically contained within the crystal while the front, back and sides remain smooth.
There is nothing to rub off, peel away or fade like a printed photograph.
A memory captured in crystal
That is probably what we like most about this process.
A normal photograph is something you look at. An inner engraved crystal turns that photograph into a physical object that can sit on a shelf, desk or bedside table for years.
It might be a wedding photograph, a child growing up, a much-loved pet, somebody you miss, or simply a photograph that means something to you.
And sometimes it doesn't need to be a photograph at all. If you have an idea, we can work with that too.
Our Inner Engraved Crystals
Our current crystals measure 50 × 50 × 80 mm, approximately 2 × 2 × 3.15 inches, and each one comes in its own presentation box.
They are available on their own or with the optional colour-changing LED base.
Every engraving is prepared individually from your photograph before being engraved here at Precision Pulse Studio.
Have a photograph or an idea in mind? Send it over and we'll be happy to have a look and tell you what we can create from it.
Comments