Guys are increasingly comfortable with wearing jewelry once considered off-limits—look no further than men wearing pearl necklaces or gem-set brooches as high-wattage lapel pins. So, it’s ironic that the signet ring—perhaps the most classic of men’s accessories—can still feel inaccessible to those without a family crest. Now, if you happen to be wearing an heirloom that’s been passed down in your family for generations, you can stop reading here (goodbye, Charles).
But the rest of us may have questions, such as: What to engrave if I don’t have a coat of arms? Must it always be worn on the pinky finger? And just where did the signet ring come from, anyway? “Signet rings, used since ancient Egyptian times for their unique seals, served as marks of authority and authenticity,” says Henry Deakin, managing director of the Piccadilly Arcade jeweler Deakin & Francis, which was founded in 1786 and rates as the oldest manufacturing jeweler in England. “Over centuries, they evolved from essential legal tools to status symbols and fashion accessories often reflecting personal and familial identity.” As they went from serving a utilitarian purpose to satisfying an aesthetic one, it was only natural that they be engraved with the ultimate power move: a family crest or coat of arms.
“Historically a surname would be referenced, in a large dusty book that we have had for over 100 years, to find the crest or coat of arms it relates to,” Deakin continues. “However, .
