The compasses are made of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc. These are wonderful and special gifts for yourself, or a loved one. They are one of a kind keepsakes and functioning compasses too.

Does each compass have different colors on it or is it just a single-color?
We offer copper colored compasses, each one is a single-color although there may be some variation in the shade. Our items may appear lighter or darker on the photos due to light beam angles.

Any images including photos and pictures can be engraved onto the compasses. You can see samples of engraved photos in our listing pages and the review section in particular.

What if I don’t want any engraving?
You can choose the option of “no engraving” in the drop-down menu on the right in the listing. You will receive the plain compass of your choosing without engraving.

Typically it takes three days to process your order. If you choose expedited shipping it will be mailed out in one day. For our standard shipping process, we estimate that your order will be delivered in nine or ten business days. Priority shipping may take about six business days or with express shipping you may receive it in four business days. Of course actual delivery time depends on the location of your U.S. address and there may be delays due to unforseen circumstances.

How can I get faster delivery?
You can choose any shipping option during checkout or upgrade your choice afterwards by contacting us on Etsy messaging or via email. You will need to place a rush order and choose the option you prefer.

For our flat compasses, you may need to use a bit of force to open the lid the first few times.
For basic instructions on using a compass, we recommend searching online. There is great information available. We recommend the following site for beginners:
https://americanhiking.org/resources/how-to-use-a-compass/
For sundial compasses …..
Use a compass or look for the North Star at night to find true north. Then, rotate the face of your sundial until the gnomon, or the pin of the sundial, is pointing straight north. The 12:00 noon notation is aligned with the gnomon, so it will be pointing north as well.

For best results, you should keep it away from any disruptive magnetic fields.

A few dents and scratches on the compass are normal as these products are hand-made and designed to resemble antiques. Yet they can become significantly tarnished unless you do necessary maintenance. Brass objects need to be cleaned with brass polishing cleaners you can easily find in your local markets. Do not clean them with a wet cloth or other types of cleaners. A damp cloth may cause it to rust or chemically damage the metal compasses.
Additionally do not rub it with a hard object that may badly scratch the metal surface. The glass and/or needle of the compass can get broken or dislocated if you drop or toss it. Please use and handle it with care.

The personalization box in the listing is designed for this purpose. You may customize the engraving with personal messages, handwritten or scripted, or images including photos, pictures, logos, symbols, emojis, etc. First you can add a note in this section about whatever you want to be engraved and which side(s). If you do not enter the information when you are placing your order, or want to add something, you may provide the additional details in the seller’s note section and/or reach out to us on Etsy messaging or via email.

Our products include compasses with and without a lid. If there is a lid like in the flat copper or gold compasses, I can engrave the outside (or top) and inside of the lid in addition to the back side (or bottom). For the sundials that don’t have lids, I can only engrave the bottom of the compass.

Can I choose any font I want?
Any font or language can be used provided that it is legally free. You need to send me the file (e.g. otf) or the information about where I can find it. For a selection of fonts you can visit the page https://www.dafont.com or search for another site. Then just let me know which font you want and by whom it’s designed.

The listing pages in my shop display a variety of predesign options you can choose for engraving. You just need to type its code underneath the image in the personalization box or contact me on Etsy messaging or via email. Also you can send me the screenshot or picture that you want to be engraved.

Your handwritten message can also be engraved onto the compass. For best results, please write your message with a dark colored pen on a blank piece of white paper, then take a photo of the image and send it to me. Please be sure not to angle your phone, hold your phone straight directly over the image and take a photo that is at least 600x600 pixels or more. The extensions of jpeg, png, and pdf are ideal for best results
The round-shaped compass that is 1.5 or 2 inches in diameter has limited space for engraving. So for readability it is critical that you write the message in short lines like poetry and in a circular design, that’s wider in the middle and gets narrower towards the top and bottom and limit the number of lines.

We can modify the predesign images per your request. You can add something to it including initials, name, date, words, phrases, proverbs, messages, images, logos, pictures, photos, symbols, emojis, etc. or remove or reshape the existing parts. You let us know what you want and we will let you know if it is possible or not.
On the other hand you may also provide your images to me. In this case the source file is required so that I can modify it. Our shop does not accept any liability for property rights of the messages, images, designs or so on.