Signet ring

A signet ring is a ring whose flat face doubles as a personal stamp. The design is cut below the surface, a technique called intaglio, so that pressing the face into wax leaves a raised impression, and that impression is a mirror image of the engraving. The Penn Museum holds a Roman intaglio seal ring of onyx from about 200 BCE, inscribed with the name of its owner, a formerly enslaved person named Ennius Philogenus.

Seals did the work that signatures do now. A seal is the impression left by an engraved metal die, or matrix, pressed into a material such as wax, and seals were used to verify documents. By 1312 English sovereigns needed a private seal of their own, the "secret seal or signet". A signet ring puts that idea on the hand: a small, portable seal of your own.

A modern signet is rarely used for sealing. The flat face has stayed because it is a good surface for a personal mark.

The classic signet is engraved as a seal. Because a pressed impression is the reverse of the die, a design meant to read correctly in wax has to be cut backwards into the ring. Most rings made today are engraved to read correctly when you look at them, which is the better choice if the ring will never touch wax. Say which you want before the engraving is drawn.

Common faces are initials or a monogram, a crest or coat of arms, a small motif, or no engraving at all. Seals often showed their owner's portrait or coat of arms, so crests have a long link to the form. Ask for a proof of the layout at actual size, with the letter spacing and the outline of the face marked in millimetres, and ask how deep the cut will be. The engraving entry covers methods and what each can reproduce.

The face outline is a design choice, and oval, cushion, round and rectangular are common starting points. A larger face gives a crest or three initials room to breathe; a smaller one suits a single initial and sits more quietly on the hand. Look at the face width in millimetres, not only the shape name, and at how thick the metal is under the engraving.

Metal affects weight and colour. Gold is sold by karat, so compare 10K gold with 14K gold and decide on yellow gold or another colour. A broad face also changes the fit, which the next section covers.

A signet ring needs more care with ring size than a plain band. Rings with wide shanks usually need to be a bit larger because they fit more snugly. A signet's broad face and often wider band cover more of the finger, so a size that suits a thin band can feel tight.

Measure on a day when your fingers are at a normal temperature, since fingers shrink in the cold and swell in the heat. Make sure the ring passes the knuckle but does not slide off at rest. The face can also rotate if the fit is loose, which turns an engraved design away from view. A comfort fit band is worth asking about for a broad ring. Try sizes on at a showroom before you decide.

Anyone who likes a personal mark. People choose a signet for their initials, for a family crest handed down, for a milestone, or for a clean polished face. Traditionally the ring went on the little finger, or the ring finger, of the less dominant hand, with the little finger most common, but today there is no rule, so choose the finger that suits you and size for that finger.

For men's styles, see the men's collection. To draw a signet from scratch, with your own face shape, engraving and metal, start from a sketch in the design studio and talk it through under custom jewellery design.