signet Rings in Traditional Highland Attire.

[Cygnus]

If you happen to become Pope, or King of Great Britain, Ireland, and your other realms and territories, then there is a color code where certain types of documents are sealed with certain colors of wax.

If you're sending a letter... whatever strikes your fancy.

Thank you, JerseyLawyer; were I king, you'd get a letter with a green seal for that!

[Jock Scot]

Thank you, JerseyLawyer; were I king, you'd get a letter with a green seal for that!

I seem to recall that the legal profession in the UK many years ago also had a colour code for their sealing wax. Perhaps I am wrong?

Blood red seems to be the only colour sealing wax that I come across.

[vmac3205]

My father didn't wear his wedding band because he was working with metal and nearly lost his finger. I think a lot of folks choose not to wear a band because of their jobs and the possibility of injury from the rings. On the other hand (no pun intended) I work in a jail, and some officers choose to wear a wedding band even though they aren't married to keep the inmates off balance.

[Bugbear]

Ok, here's the deal. I have a sterling ring that was given to me by a grandparent. It has a fairly large square face that at one time had something on it, but had worn down. A long time back, at the suggestion of the grandparent, I had the surface of the square face smoothed out so that it is a blank square, and had an initial lightly engraved.

It would not make an impression in wax. I have considered having something soldered on that face by a jeweler, it's fairly thin at this point, but I'm still pondering it. That's the only ring I have. Like I said, I very rarely wear it, or any other jewelry.

[MacLowlife]

MacBug, I think you might be happier starting with another ring. You might be able to get a stone bezel set on top of your ring, but you might be able to start with another ring that already has a stone. These days, lasers can be used to engrave in stone, but the traditional intaglio carving can easily be distinguished from laser work in most cases. Being a smart gent, you might either spend some time with a Dremel or Foredom tool and some onyx scraps, or you might consider carving a wax blank to be cast. I don't know much about either, but that has never stopped me before.

There are plenty of online businesses offering rings like this. I believe they are expensive. http://www.familysealrings.com/Gemstone.html

However, if you are not married to a single idea or motif, you might spend six months or so observing the marketplace and consider buying an existing ring with a crest on it (NOT arms, but the head of a heraldic beast, which might actually belong to many different arms). There are over 500 items listed today on eBay under the description "intaglio ring" with subjects ranging from initials to kookaburras and a wide range of prices. Of course, not all are suitable for sealing, but many of them are.

We look forward to further developments.
Thanks
M'll

[Bugbear]

Oops, no, I didn't intend this ring for sealing... I don't have anything to seal in the first place. I was thinking of having a thin silver overlay put on the face, not a stone.

What is the difference between "the head of a heraldic beast," and the head of a non-heraldic beast on a ring, MacLowlife?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Although there is no "social colour code" that I am aware of, most gentlemen use red sealing wax. In the 18th and 19th century (and indeed, even today) it was not uncommon for a lady to seal an envelope with a different colour sealing wax, often green.

As far as I am aware the wearing of signet rings by ladies is far from fashionable. In grander households a lady would have her own seal (often a desk seal or a smaller fob seal) which would be engraved either with her arms and those of her husband, or perhaps a monogram or cypher of her initials (or those of her title) sometimes surmounted by a coronet denoting her rank.

[MacLowlife]

I guess that by the time his head makes it onto a ring, any beastie is heraldic, though, of course, some are entirely heraldic, such as the Gryphon/ griffon/ griffin. I have long wondered how we can distinguish between the head of an eagle and the head of a griffon (which has the head of an eagle) if all we see is the head.

I actually wandered through all 500 of those intaglio ring listings last night. Many of them are engraved in Arabic script. Several more depict heads of soldiers, either generic ones or specific ones I couldn't identify ( Zeus?, Mars?). Some depict Mercury and some few depict historical figures ( Aristotle, John Milton). A number of them depict entire animals in a way that doesn't necessarily evoke heraldry, like running dear. You can also find many fob seals of the kind MoR refers to.

I have some very old writing paper with a boar on it, which I assume to be the crest of some ancestor. That leads me to reconsider what I said (or ask for help) on the topic of crests on rings... Some crests are entire animals (my ancestral boar) while others are heads (eagles, bears, dragons, unicorns). I expect the dead giveaway for a head would be the presence of a torse or wreath, while the whole animal might be heraldic or might be some football mascot...

Does anyone else know more than I do? I suspect it is impossible to know much less. Sorry for the derailing. I know we are verging towards another forum,so I will close by saying Traditional Highland Dress. There, that should help.

[Bugbear]

If no one answers, I'll try to cook up another thread for you, to be posted elsewhere, MackLowlife.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Whether used as a crest, or in full form, the head of a gryphon is shown with "ears" whereas the head of an eagle is smooth.