We’re so accustomed to snapping away on our smartphones these days. So much so, that we barely even consider other ways in which we can take back an image of a place that has particularly resonated with us. Just maybe, the traditional art of customized medals could offer a real antidote to those thousands of pictures that never get looked at on our laptops?
A holiday tradition that never went out of fashion: customized medals:
Creating customized medal designs
has been big business for a long time. Initially most medals were produced for commemorative reasons or to reward individuals for specific achievements. However, with increased leisure time and prosperity came more opportunities for people to enjoy holidays and foreign travel. Naturally, people wanted a reminder of their time away, or perhaps to buy a small present for friends and family back home. Medals were an excellent choice, being aesthetically pleasing, easy to carry and durable. Today, nothing has changed – except for the technology behind medal manufacturing, making it easier than ever before to produce accurate, beautiful, hard-wearing designs. As a result, medals continue to be made by the million!
Stand out from the crowd with medals made just for you
Many tourist industry professionals are taking advantage of modern technology’s capabilities to put a new spin on a well-established product – and to have medals tailor-made to their exact specifications. For example, modern lathes are used to trim edges with far more accuracy than was possible in the past, thanks to the use of CNC machinery. Effects like intaglio or sunken relief – a very ancient tradition in medal making – can now be produced by using the electrical discharge machining (or ‘spark’ machining) approach. This technique uses the discharge of electrical current between two electrodes to remove metal from the surface of a medal in a way that can be done more quickly and precisely than using older methods. Meanwhile, antique finishes and electro-plating add to the aesthetic options on offer.