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A signet ring was originally a tool. The engraved face was pressed into wax to seal a letter, which is why the design is cut in reverse and why the gold is thick enough to survive a lifetime of being pushed into it. Long after sealing wax went out of daily use, the form stayed: heavy gold, a flat or slightly domed face, and either a crest, a monogram, a bloodstone or carnelian intaglio, or nothing at all.
Between pieces
Every piece here exists once, so this page empties and fills again as we buy. That is exactly when it is worth telling us what you are after: our buyers are with European estates, auction houses and private sellers every week, and we write to you first when something right comes in.
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About signet
Signet rings were personal seals before they were fashion. Look for a crisp, un-worn engraving face and a shank that has not been thinned by decades of wear.
Check the hallmark and the wear together: an honest antique ring shows soft, even wear on the high points, original solder lines and a shank that has not been thinned. Ask to see the culet of any old-cut stone, the back of the setting and the gallery, all of which we will show you live on video before you buy.
Pieces in this style generally sit between roughly $700 and $6,500, depending on age, metal and stone content.
Indicative only. Every curated vintage, antique and estate piece is one of a kind and priced on its own merits, with free insured US shipping.
Personal service
Three ways to go further, all of them with a person on the other side.
One of our jewelers takes any piece to daylight and shows you the hallmark, the setting and any wear, live and in your own time zone.
Book a viewingOur buyers are with European estates and auction houses every week. Describe the piece and we write to you the moment something right comes in.
We will source itOur Atelier pieces are newly handcrafted in our own workshop, taking their cues from the vintage and antique jewelry we have spent decades restoring. New work with a vintage soul, never sold as antique.
Explore AtelierThat is what makes vintage signets so easy to wear now. They are unisex, they are solid, and a blank or lightly worn face can be engraved with your own initials without harming the ring — a piece of hand work our own goldsmith does in house. A crest or monogram from another family can also simply be left as it is; many buyers prefer the history.
Our signets run from Georgian and Victorian gold through mid-century 9K, 14K and 18K English, Dutch and French rings, plus heavier 1970s and 1980s pieces. Every ring is weighed, tested where the hallmark is worn, and checked at the bench for thinning at the back of the shank — the one place signets fail. We publish the face dimensions and the US size, and most can be resized by our goldsmith.
Oval, cushion, octagonal, rectangular and round faces, plain or with a raised bezel, and intaglio faces in bloodstone, carnelian, onyx or sardonyx. We give the face measurements in millimeters and inches so you can judge the scale on your own hand before you buy.
Usually yes, when the face is blank or the existing engraving is worn shallow. Our goldsmith hand engraves in house and will tell you honestly whether the gold on that particular ring is thick enough to take it. We never recommend cutting away a crisp period crest.
Signets are among the heaviest rings we sell, so weight matters: each listing carries the gram weight and the karat, tested where the mark is worn. Ring sizes are shown in US sizes, and resizing by our own goldsmith is free where the ring allows it.
Not sure yet?
One of our jewelers will take any piece in this collection to daylight and show you the hallmark, the setting and any wear, live and in your own time zone.
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