The Story of Fashion: The Remarkable Story and Tradition of the Signet Ring
The signet ring is defined by the dictionary as a ring with letters or a design carved on it. To completely understand the signet ring we have to understand what a seal is. Popular dictionaries describe seal as a figure impressed in wax, clay, or some other medium, or embossed on paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document. The word signet has its origins in latin word signum meaning sign. The system of wearing rings and using them as a seal has come primarily from Europe where these are made either in gems or in metal. Typically these were in gem stones.