Signet Rings | Engraved | Signet Rings | Initial Ring | Letter Ring | Family Crest Ring | A Traditional Heirloom in Gold, Sterling Silver and Platinum
Signet Rings | Initial Ring | Letter Ring | Family Crest Ring | A Traditional Heirloom in Gold, Sterling Silver and Platinum | Made in England and Made in America | StudioBurke ltd, Washington, DC
What Does Wearing A Signet Ring Mean??
Throughout history, the signet ring is an item of jewelery that has been passed down as a family heirloom.
Who Wears A Signet Ring?
Some clubs, corporations, and families continue to give seal rings as gifts upon a certain length of service, a graduation or a commendation. Many military men wear signet rings that reflect their rank as a status symbol whereas others wear symbolic rings to showcase the branch they served with.
Traditions can vary across cultures and religions. In the UK the signet ring has traditionally been worn on the pinkie – or smallest – finger, on the non-dominant hand. Therefore, if you are right-handed, you will tend to wear your ring on your left hand. In Switzerland, men wear signet rings upon the right finger of their right hand, while in France men use the right finger of their left hand.
Since the Middle Ages, the pinkie finger (which comes from the now defunct adjective ‘pink’, meaning ‘small’) was the favorite finger for the signet ring. Wearing the signet ring on the smallest finger ensured that the wearer was easily able to use the ring for its traditional means - as a tool to emboss wax, creating a wax-seal for the purpose of identification and authentication.
A practice that first started in ancient Egypt and later carried on by the Romans, the seal was widely used from the Middle Ages in royal proclamations, legal documents, or to authenticate correspondence. Incorporated into the signet ring, it was safely kept on the hand of the owner and was, of course, close to hand whenever needed.
During the seventeenth century, the signet ring briefly fell out of fashion. Instead, during this period the prominent members of society preferred to have their seal in an ornamental mount. They would then wear these mounted seals on a chain or ribbon, often as a fob, along with a watch. This practice continued until the latter part of the eighteenth century when the signet ring once again became popular.
Nowadays, the signature has replaced the signet ring as the primary means of authenticating a person’s identity. Despite this, the habit of wearing an engraved signet ring on the smallest finger continues.
As the use of the signet ring to provide an official wax seal has all but disappeared today, where you choose to wear your ring is largely a matter of personal choice. In the United States, for example, it is quite normal to see people wearing a signet ring on their ring or middle finger, think of Steve McQueen who was never without his ring. Winston Churchill typically defied tradition by wearing his gold signet ring, bearing the family crest, on his third ring finger. Prince Charles wears his wedding ring on his pinkie finger stacked next to his signet ring.
Ultimately, as the signet ring becomes increasingly a means of personal expression, where and how it is worn will be as unique as the person who wears it.
In most cases today it’s a matter of personal style when a man wears a signet ring. As discussed, some fraternities such as the Freemasons and other organizations offer rings to their members. While not used in the same fashion exactly, these rings are still marks of status and seals of authenticity, although, with the internet, it makes it easy to purchase counterfeits. This is why many of these organizations also rely on other methods of authenticating who they are.