Rings

[fluteplayer07]

Outstanding, everybody; especially those last two, D'Guy! :eusa_clap

Are there any 'classic' materials used to make signet rings? (Like a particular stone, like D'Guy's cornelian ring; or are they usually done in solid gold?)

 

[Shangas]

Signet-rings are traditionally made of solid gold, or solid gold and a special stone set into the top of the ring. Then, either the gold, or the stone (if there is one) is engraved in mirror-fashion with your coat of arms or monogram.

 

[Talbot]

I have one that I love of a '32 Roadster with mountains in the background.

Sorry for the blurry pic:

Looks like Bonneville in the background - nice.

Does a story come with it?

T

 

[John in Covina]

Does a story come with it?

fftopic:
Same old story: Found it in a cave, got chased by a guy named Gollum and just heard the original owner wants it back but friends say I should throw it in a volcano.:eusa_doh:

 

[Shangas]

Although not its original purpose by any means, my ring has been repurposed as a signet-ring.

I think it does a pretty good job.

Here's the ring on my right pinkie-finger:

 

[John in Covina]

Pretty cool, you should see if there is a way to make a cast of the ring to use so the wax relief is raised up instead of impressed into the wax.

 

[Shangas]

Traditionally, a signet-ring was engraved and in reverse, so that the wax-impression came out right way round and raised, instead of like what I have, but I'm too lazy to do that. Besides, I love this ring!

 

[Vic]

Looks like Bonneville in the background - nice.

Does a story come with it?

T

There's no special story to go with it (thanks for asking, though).

It was made by a company called 1945 Casting Co. and I got it for Chanukah last year...that's the whole story lol

 

[fluteplayer07]

Any stones in particular that are better for signet rings (wax sticks less, can be cut more detailed, etc.)? And as far as the design, should the stone's face lay flush with the metal so there's less of a crack for wax to stick between? Or the stone's face be raised higher than the base metal so the gold doesn't touch the wax? Or solid gold is best (no stone)?

Thanks for the answers. Sorry for all these questions.

 

[Shangas]

There is a specific type of stone that is recommended, I believe it's the agate, but almost anything can be used, from what I've seen. And yes, the stone should be flush with the edge of the ring, to stop the wax having somewhere to hide. Of course, you don't have to have a stone, a solid gold signet-ring works just as well.

And...whether using a ring or a sealing-stamp, you should *always* either lick or moisten the bottom of the seal before pressing it into wax. This creates an important moisture-barrier and provides lubrication to stop the melted wax sticking to the seal. You do NOT want to do a seal without this. Digging solidified sealing-wax out of your signet-ring or your sealing-stamp is an absolute pain in the ass, and I speak from personal experience.

 

[Harp]

OK, just wondering, I remember in the TV show, Dark Shadows, Baranabas Collins wore his black blood onyx ring...

I remember Dark Shadows; Collins et al and his index ring.
I wear a momento from the Army, a silver team ring with an Orthodox gold cross,
encircled by seven diamonds along the bezel depicting Orion,
with a trojan horse head engraved along both shanks.
Its large and somewhat resembles Tom Selleck's Magnum PI ring,
which occasionally raises comparison comment. I just say mine's real. :cool2:

 

[Dinerman]

Thrift shop pickup for a quarter. Not in the best of shape.

 

[Miss sofia]

I like the colour of the stone, very attractive.

I just wear a gold signet ring, on the pinky, with my monogram, it's a family tradition for the women in our family that we receive a signet ring on our eighteenth birthday.

I do have the diamond from my grandma's engagement ring which i had made into solitaire pendant, which i wear all the time too. The ring was too small to fit me. It was all my grandpa could afford after he was de-mobbed, and so family legend goes he rushed out and bought the nicest ring he could to cemet their engagement when they met up again. But my granny couldn't wear it when she was older as she had arthritis, so it gave them alot of pleasure when they were alive that i had put it to good use! So romantic.

 

[kyboots]

Jade Ring

Hey Dinnerman: I assume that is a Jade setting. Back in 1968 I was given that identical ring by a teenage young lady for "friendship". That was a very popular style during the 60's and Jade hit a fever pitch in popularity again during that period. Faded of course during the 70's. I may still have that ring in a long ago box somewhere. I still think a pretty ring, good buy! John

 

[Mr Badger]

I've got pretty chubby digits (my brother's nickname for me when we wuz kids = jumbo cod fingers!) so my collection of rings is pretty small. A pal's been visiting so I just loaded meself up and snapped this with his camera phone:

From L to R: Mexican horseshoe ring bought at a Memphis flea market a few years back, a silver religious ring that I got in Tennessee cos it looked like a cocktail glass, an Avon horseshoe ring off Ebay, my 1930s white gold wedding band, our first silver 'music notes' wedding ring from when we got married inside Sun Studios (my wife mashed hers by accident, hence the sturdier replacement!), a neat 1920s-style signet ring from Schwabs on Beale Street, and a nice deco pinky ring from the flea market in Geneva...

 

[buler]

My custom made ex-wedding ring. Slowly getting vintage sitting in the drawer.

B

 

[Shangas]

I like the colour of the stone, very attractive.

I just wear a gold signet ring, on the pinky, with my monogram, it's a family tradition for the women in our family that we receive a signet ring on our eighteenth birthday.

What a beautiful tradition! Can we see the ring?

 

[Succotash]

Thrift shop pickup for a quarter. Not in the best of shape.

Hey hey Dinerman I've had the exact same ring for about three years now. Mine is a tiger's eye though....

For some reason Im not allowed to post a picture?!?

 

[FedoraFan112390]

Pinky Rings

I know pinky rings tend to be associated with Mafia figures today, but it seems like at least in the 30s, perhaps even up to the 70s, they weren't just associated with gangsters. For example, FDR famously wore a pinkie ring, it was one of his trademarks along with his battered fedora and his long cigarette; I've seen photographs of Mick Jagger wearing one in the early 1970s; I've seen pictures of people (non-Mafia) in the 60s, 70s and 80s wearing one. So, what did a Pinky Ring represent exactly--were they that popular--and why were they popular?

 

[Shangas]

When I think of pinky rings, I think of the traditional signet-ring. And those go back centuries. A lot further than the 1930s.

Signet-rings were worn by royalty and nobility. Some wealthier people still wear them today.

They're engraved with the owner's personal coat of arms or monogram, deliberately done in mirror-format so that the ring doubles as your personal sealing-stamp. The word "Signet" comes from the Latin 'Signum' meaning 'to sign'. it's where we also get the word 'Signature'. So your signet-ring was literally your 'signature-ring'.

I wish I had a signet-ring. I think they're cool.

But barring that, I have a solid gold pinky-ring with a dragon on it that my father gave to me. It was a wedding present he got in the 70s when he married my mother. But he never wears it so he gave it to me.