Crystal Ornament Octagon

This is the ornament to choose when the photograph has more than two people in it. Eight straight edges frame a picture without cropping it into a curve, and at 2.36 inches across the octagon is the only shape in the range recommended for up to five figures. Everywhere else on a tree a group photo has to lose somebody at the edge. Engraved glass ornaments cut this way keep the whole frame, which matters when the point of the picture is that everyone was there.

Straight Edges, Whole Photograph

A circle and a heart both pull the corners of an image inward, so a row of people ends up trimmed at both ends. The octagon crops far less, and the angled corners give the light something to catch without eating into the picture. A family of four at a table, a wedding party, three generations on a sofa: these are the photographs this shape exists for. Keep the subjects reasonably close to the camera, since detail still has limits at ornament size, and a row of people photographed from across a hall will not hold up.

Why It Outlasts a Printed Ornament

The image is engraved inside the crystal rather than printed on a surface, which is the difference between an ornament that looks the same in twenty years and one that fades, peels or chips after a few seasons in the loft. There is no ink involved anywhere. Clear crystal also lets tree lights pass straight through and lift the engraving from behind, so a custom glass ornament like this reads brightly among fairy lights instead of disappearing into them.

Ordering and Add-Ons

Send any photo and our designers retouch it, clean up the background where that helps a group separate, and email you a free proof before anything is engraved. Text can be laid out alongside the image or used on its own: a family name with a year, or a date. A stand is available if the ornament is to be displayed after Christmas, and the crystal is equally at home on a shelf as on a branch. A cleaning kit is available for fingerprints. Gift box included, made in 1-2 business days, US delivery in 3-5.