Wine Stopper Octagonal 3D

An octagonal crystal bottle stopper is the decorative one of the pair. Eight cut faces meet at the top of a stainless steel plug, and each of them picks up whatever light is in the room, so the piece throws small highlights across a counter or a sideboard. The photograph is engraved inside the crystal at varying depths, which means the image has volume while the facets around it move. A rectangle keeps the picture flatter and plainer; this shape is for a kitchen where the object is meant to be noticed.

What the Facets Do

Light entering a cut face travels through the block and lifts the whole body of the crystal rather than bouncing straight back at you. Move a step and a different face lights up while the portrait at the centre stays still, which is the same contrast that makes a cut glass decanter worth owning. Under a kitchen spotlight the effect is strongest, and by a window it is softer and closer to the rectangle version. The cut also gives the piece weight in the hand, which is the first thing anyone notices when they lift it off a bottle. It is worth knowing the shape is chosen for how it sits in a room, not for how much detail it holds.

Choosing the Photograph

An engraved wine stopper is small, so the subject needs to be close: one face, two people together, a pet, or the label of a bottle that meant something. Wide group shots lose their edges at this scale on any of our shapes. Our designers retouch the file first and can remove the background, which helps the subject stand clear of the facets rather than competing with them. A name or a date can be engraved beside the image at no extra cost, and an anniversary year is the most common thing people add.

Ordering and Looking After It

Send any photo and you will receive a proof by email before the laser runs. Nothing is engraved until you approve it. The image sits inside the crystal, out of reach of hands, wine and detergent, so care amounts to a wipe with the microfiber cloth that comes in the box. The same stopper is made in a rectangle, and both shapes come with a flat 2D engraving for photographs that cannot support a depth model. Made in 1-2 business days, US delivery in 3-5, gift boxed.