Family Crest Rings
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007
Click HERE to order your Family Crest Ring
Other Names For The Family Crest Ring;
The family crest ring is often referred to as the following, the Crest Ring, the Family Seal Ring, the Signet Crest Ring, the Family Emblem Ring and the Heraldic Ring.
History of The Ring;
Back in the 10th to the 14th century most people neither read or write so some form of identification was neccessary for the clans and tribes of the time. So this gave birth to the blazon of arms most commonly known as the Coat of Arms as we know ot to day. It consist of the crest on the top, then the wreath, then the shield which consists of the markings and on the outside is the mantle. The coat of arms was simple engraved on the face of the ring mostly in reverse which, when pressed down on the wax would give you the family coat of arms imprinted on the wax. The wax today can be got in various colours but the most popular colour is red.
The Making of the Family Crest Ring;
Most of these beautiful rings are hand carved rather than machined engraved and the reason for this is that hand engraving cuts deeper into the metal than machine engraving hence giving a much more clear image of the crest when its imprinted into the wax. The tool used by the engraver is called a graver. Its a tool with a wooden handle and and protruding from this is a rectanguler metal piece sharpened at the end. This graver is pushed along the surface of the ring making an clear angled groove. Different directions of the lines gives various shadings and represent different colours of the crest.
Preparing the Ring fo Engraving;
On the face or surface of the ring a special white paint is applied very lightly. Then on this the actual design of the crest to be engraved is drawn on it, this is very tedious as remember this must be drawn in reverse to give you the correct look of the family crest when its imprinted in the wax. The images must be engraved at different depths to give the illusion of three dimensional, the helmet is engraved more concaved so it looks rounded and mor in front of the crest. All of this can only be done by hand engraving.
Uses of the Family Crest Ring;
The family crest ring was most commonly used for sealing letters so they arrived safely, also used for sealing agreements between families, countries and for fun aspects. Remember the saying (lets seal the deal) well I would imagine it came from the seal ring!. Members of Royal Families around the world are noted for their wearing of Royal Coat of Arms for their particular countries.