Chinese may view this as artistically gauche, but it is understandable as a memento for Westerners. These may have the animal of the Chinese zodiac for the year the buyer was born. You can also choose figures to make a personal statement. The dragon is one of the most popular, followed by the tiger for business transactions. C.K. Yen of C.K. Arts in the Grand Hyatt Hotel notes that Chinese or Japanese tourists, who regularly use chops, often choose stones of higher quality.
Businesses prefer a round chop because it symbolizes money rolling in.
Even the number of strokes in a name is important because there are auspicious and inauspicious numbers. So the number of strokes in a name are counted and the artisan might add or reduce the total for good fortune. Also, one must not forget to consult the Chinese calendar to calculate what day is propitious for the first use of the chop. As you can see, using a chop can be a very involved and complicated matter. Depending on your budget, you may even want to consider size.