Sports awards have been given to star athletes for thousands of years. The winners of the original Greek Olympics were awarded olive branches, and now Olympic athletes are awarded medals. Depending on their placement, winners may be awarded a gold, silver, or bronze medal. However, these medals are not made of pure gold, silver, or bronze anymore. Continue reading to see the materials that typically make up Olympic medals and personalized trophies in San Jose and Santa Clara.

As seen in the video, the 1912 Olympic games were the last time a medal or sports award was made of pure gold. Now, The International Olympic Committee requires that gold medals only need to have six grams of gold. The rest is made up of silver and copper. Bronze awards are also made of tin, copper, and zinc. Silver awards are almost completely made of silver.

It is incredibly important to keep your artwork—whether personally made or purchased—protected against dust, light, and accidents. It is just as important to have your artwork enhanced and showcased for your viewing pleasure. Your framing store near San Jose and Santa Clara can help you in both endeavors by creating a custom frame to protect and showcase your artwork. Let’s look closer at why it is so important to work with a professional frame designer.

A professional frame designer will have the required knowledge to advise you on the right framing materials to protect your artwork. A frame designer can advise on the proper matting, glass, and frames to work with your artwork’s medium, whether it is an oil or watercolor painting or a charcoal sketch. Designers can tell you why seemingly minor details, such as spacing, can enhance or detract from your art. If you are looking to keep your artwork protected, yet showcase it for everyone to see, then work with your local framing store to design the perfect custom frame.

Trophy engraving and engraved, personalized gifts are popular ways to award someone or show appreciation. However, the art of engraving personalized gifts has come a long way over thousands of years. From prehistoric water containers to artistic masterpieces, engraving has a long history. Here is a brief look back at the history of engraving and customized gifts near San Jose and Santa Clara:

Prehistoric Water Containers

As early as 60,000 years ago, prehistoric humans were engraving designs in emptied ostrich eggshells. Hundreds of eggshell fragments have been found in a South African cave named Howieson’s Poort Shelter. The carvings show a variety of patterns that indicate the prehistoric humans followed specific artistic details. Based on current tribal action, archaeologists assume that these prehistoric eggshells were likely used as water containers.

Ancient Storytelling

One of the most famous types of engravings can be found inside Egyptian pyramids. Hieroglyphics were largely used by the Egyptians to record data, such as the height of the Nile and the import of goods. However, pottery, funerary pots, and pyramid walls were used to engrave stories of the Egyptian people and their gods. One of the earliest Egyptian engravings is known as the “Pyramid Texts” and can be found on the walls and sarcophagi at Saqqara.

Fifteenth Century Mass Production

During the 1300s, paper was being mass produced, but people were still required to copy texts and pictures by hand. This changed in the 1400s when ambitious engravers began carving religious art and devotional texts into metal plates for mass production.

Golden Age of Engraving

During the late 1400s and early 1500s, the Golden Age of Engraving included the artists Albrecht Durer, Martin Schongauer, and Lucas von Leiden. These artists—likely learning the art of metal-working and engraving from goldsmithing—were regarded as master artists. Masterpieces like Adam and Eve by Durer and Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons by Schongauer are still regarded as artistic feats in the world of engraving.

Personalized gifts in San Jose and Santa Clara are great for sports awards, celebrating achievements, and even giving as birthday presents. A customized embedment is what makes the gift truly personalized, but how does it work? Check out this video clip to see how plaques are engraved.

Plaque engraving starts with a design on a standard sheet of paper. Your professional will put this sheet of paper on the engraving machine, making sure to smooth out any wrinkles, and then attach metal to the other side. As the machine rotates, it scans the paper on the first side to detect where the engraving should happen. Wherever there is black on the design, the metal side of the machine will engrave. It knows that the white areas should be left alone, so you can get the contrast you need. The machine’s sensor scans the design