All of our jewelry bears a hallmark stamp from the government, attesting to the fact that it is 18k gold, 900 silver, or 925 (Sterling Silver). It is not a dent, or a flaw, it is the stamp, this is your protection. With the ever increasing price of gold it is important that you know exactly what you are buying, therefore we have elected to publish the grams of gold. Your personalized cartouche will not weigh less than what we publish. We publish very specific grams of gold for each item, giving a wide range, i.e. of 3 to 5 grams of gold is extremely misleading, and can translate into a few hundred dollars.
The artists reserve the right to choose the hieroglyphic symbols and arrangement (Some letters such as "a" "h" and "m" have two symbols ). If you have particular symbols please advise us in the "Special Instructions" box on the order form.
Specifications on dimensions for the cartouche are approximate. Size will vary according to symbols. Some names will have symbols that are more vertical in nature than horizontal. This will dictate the final length of the cartouche. Example: if you have 4 symbols and order a 6 inch wrist, approx. 1.5 inches are the cartouche, the remaining 5.5 inches are the band and clasp.
What is a Cartouche? A Cartouche (pronounced "kar-toosh") is actually a French word meaning 'gun cartridge'. When Napoleon's soldiers were in Egypt, they called the oval shaped etchings surrounding the king names "cartouche" because it reminded them of the shape of their gun cartridges, or bullets. Cartouches have a a long lasting legend that dates back over 5000 years ago. A Cartouche was originally designed for the Pharaohs to be an amulet of protection. Each Cartouche had the name of the person wearing it written in Egyptian Hieroglyphics King Tut... Ramses... Nefertiti... Cleopatra.
Your personalized cartouche jewelry will be hand made in our Cairo workshop. Custom orders welcomed.
