18ctGold Chester Hallmarked in the year 1899. In the second image in the image gallery, above, of this very fine “18ctGold Chester” English Antique ring, the hallmarks stamped into the inside of the band are quite clear: the maker’s mark “E.V.” on the far left is followed by the Crown, the English 18ct Gold stamp, then “18”, then the symbol of a set of scales, designating the Chester assay offices as the hallmarking authority, and finally the boxed letter “Q” signifying the particular year of the stampings, namely 1899. (If the hallmarking had taken place in Chester in the year 1898, the stamp would have been a boxed “P”, if 1900 a boxed “R”; if the hallmarking had taken place in, e.g., Birmingham in the year 1899, the mark of its assay offices would be a stamped “Anchor” symbol, and its year stamp would be a boxed “Z”.)
The above handmade 18ct Gold ring is a classic example of a classic man’s Gold signet ring, set with Jasper-flecked Green Chalcedony (Bloodstone) cut in heraldic form. A “signet” was originally a small, easily portable seal, usually set in a ring, used as a sign of authenticity when stamped into the sealing wax of a document. Certain gemstones, like Bloodstone and its crystal family cousin, Carnelian, have been used for seals over thousands of years, for they are gemstones that can be carved with identifying symbols, and when stamped into hot wax will leave an imprint in the wax, and the wax will not adhere, clogging the carving.
Naturally, a fine signet, set in either a pendant or a ring, was a sign of distinction, so that as a signature came to supplant the signet, men of distinction took to wearing a signet style of ring simply as jewellery.