We started making our own signet rings in the early Eighties when a sudden rise in the price of gold (sound familiar?) led the big manufacturers to skimp on the amount of metal they used in their rings. The end result was a small lady’s ring that could be squeezed out of shape between finger and thumb. Our rings are substantial - proper signet rings - to this day.

Harnessing casting technology acquired from the local dental laboratory, we created our own rings complete with our new maker’s mark, CNAR (my grandfather’s initials), struck by the London Assay Office. This coincided with a desire to look beyond Gosport for new business and an advertising campaign that brought in orders from around the world.

The rings themselves started as a block of wax and were carved to any shape, size and therefore weight. In the early days we offered 12 different shapes but these were subsequently pared down to six.

The Six Shapes

Straight Oval is the most popular shape. It is a classic oval that is tailored to an individual’s engraving - it could therefore be a taller oval or a fatter oval to perfectly encompass the particular device. This minute adjustment to dimensions applies to all shapes, of course.

It’s the most popular because the signet ring is a very traditional product and shouldn’t be all singing, all dancing with bells on it. The straight oval is undoubtedly the conservative ring of choice.

Bulbous Oval: is best characterised as “chunky”. Over the years I have deliberately chosen to use this word because it either confirms a person’s choice or deters! The bulbous oval has gold bulked up on its shoulders and is therefore a much heavier ring than its counterpart, the straight oval. It is a good illustration of a shape that cannot be stamped out.

Round: Inevitably there are some devices that beg to be framed by a circle rather than an oval or square. Potentially this is a cumbersome looking ring but, with the right tweak here and there, this becomes an elegant alternative.

Oxford: By the same token, a device might need a square frame and the Oxford fills this role spendidly. By rounding the corners we present a ring that is not as stark as a square or rectangle proper but still gives the device the edge it demands. It is a heavier ring too.

Cushion: For me the cushion shape comes second to the straight oval. It is more subtle than either the round or the Oxford and was a favourite in the Victorian days - indeed the inspiration for its inclusion in the range.

Octagon: We characterised this in an earlier brochure as “a more modern shape for the Naughties” and lo and behold it’s now 2011! There is something new about the shape, though, and it is superb when set with a stone.

The important point, however, is that each ring is made to order and can be any shape, dimension or weight, We are not beholden to a small number of dies that bash out only a small range of rings that all look the same. This is our USP: each Ruffs signet ring is made to order and therefore special.

Over a period of time we have built up a network of outworkers based on the excellence of their work. We now have a team that includes the best modelmakers, casters, finishers, stone merchants, setters, seal-engravers and surface-engravers around. The team enables us to claim, not without some justification, that we make the best signet rings in the world.

The signet ring has traditionally been set with a stone - bloodstone, cornelian, lapis lazuli and sardonyx are the favourites - because a seal cut into stone will be sharper than that cut into gold alone. Although we no longer seal things, the stone-set ring can make a beautiful alternative to plain gold.

We provide only the best stone we can find. This would be bloodstone that is deep dark green with plenty of flecks of red jasper; deep dark red cornelian; vibrant bright blue lapis lazuli, with or without pyrite (we recommend the absence of pyrite if it’s to be engraved); and sardonyx in a variety of colours with a sliding scale of light to dark top layers.

Every ring we make has to be hallmarked - by law. This is a valuable add-on in my opinion because not only is it a guarantee that we have made exactly what we say we are going to make but it is also a record for posterity.



There are five marks inside our signet rings: CNAR is our maker’s mark; a stylised Rose that represents the Sheffield Assay Office, where all of our work is sent; two symbols - an Imperial Crown and either 375, 585, 750 or 916 - indicating 9ct, 14ct, 18ct or 22ct gold respectively; and finally a date-letter which is a lower case m for 2011.

Last but not least, each signet ring we make comes with its own unique wax impression. This is a carefully taken impression of that particular ring and shows quite clearly the quality of the engraving: the proof of the pudding. It is an attractive addition to the product and some customers have even gone so far as to have the wax framed and present it as a work of art in its own right. Coupled with a pencil sketch of the crest that we make from time to time, this makes for a very smart wall-hanging.