Lodge St Barchan – Engraved Tankards for Installation 2025

Some commissions arrive with a clear purpose and a tight deadline. This project came from Alasdair, the incoming Worshipful Master of Lodge St Barchan, who asked us to create six engraved tankards for his Installation on 13 December 2025. Each tankard needed to carry the Lodge crest on the front and a personalised message on the reverse, with absolute consistency across all six pieces.

The crest supplied was a colour image, so the first stage involved redrawing it entirely as black and white vector artwork. Every line, curve and detail had to be rebuilt so the engraving would remain clean at tankard scale. Only once the digital master was approved could the engraving layout be finalised.

Precision was key. Placement, scale, spacing and engraving depth all had to match from one tankard to the next, while the individual messages on the reverse were positioned to the same measurements to keep the full set uniform. December is always a demanding month in the workshop, but the full commission, design, proofing, engraving and finishing, was completed within the required timescale.

The finished pieces were presented in our satin lined gift boxes and delivered safely ahead of Alasdair’s Installation. His review, sent on arrival, said more than we ever could about the work:

“WOW.
To say I am delighted with them is an understatement.
The quality, the look, the feel, the text, everything including the presentation box is exactly what I was looking for… These gifts allow me to mark that occasion whilst providing something that can be treasured forever… The whole process from start to finish has been exceptional.”

A commission that combined heritage, precision and purpose.

Hand-engraved in our Fife studio, December 2025.