Rings
Ring, n.1
I. A purposely made hollow circular object of metal or other hard material.
1. An item of personal wear.
a. A small circlet intended for wearing on the finger either as an ornament or as a token of an event (as engagement, marriage, or investiture) or a feeling, and sometimes for use as a seal; also more fully finger ring. Often made of (real or simulated) precious metal, usually gold, and frequently set with precious stones or imitations of these, but also of wood, glass, plastic, or other material. Also fig., esp. as a symbol of marriage, sovereignty, or other investiture.
b. A circular band worn elsewhere than on the finger as an ornament.
Introduction
From as far back as the ancient Rome rings have been valuable pieces of jewellery, signifying wealth, status and marriage. This is a theme that has existed in the middle ages and was no different in the eighteenth century than it is today. An eighteenth century interest in rings rooted them within Greek mythology; it was said that Prometheus created the first ring with the first stone with the very chains and rock to which he was tied to as punishment. Rings have been noted as a symbol of love and wealth, especially in the form of romantic love through engagement or nuptial rings. In the eighteenth century the use of rings was a little bit more varied however, from rings being symbolic of not only nuptial love and as symbols of mourning to symbols of rank and station. Signet rings with seals carved into them were worn by men and various rings symbolised different things, such as serjeant's rings which symbolised the rank that was one below judges in the eighteenth century legal system. Rings have always been valuable in society and in the eighteenth century rings were made from precious materials such as gold and silver and often featured valuable jewels. The styles were not, however, limited to simple bands with jewels attached to them. Rings were also set with cameos as well as embellished bezels and many had names or religious lines engraved in them. Rings in this era were worn by both men and women at the time and rings made with precious materials could only be afforded by the upper classes. As such, rings were frequently stolen from households by opportunistic servants and pawned for money.
Materials Used
"She wears the precious ring that holds
Each jewel of the tribes"
Hymn XXII. St. Bartholomew
Various materials were used to make rings from the traditional gold to copper or stone rings. More valuable rings would often be made with a gold or silver band and would be set with various precious stones such as diamonds, rubies and sapphires. Pearls were also commonly used. The use of such materials is salient as metals such as gold and silver were not often native to England. Gems too were mined and imported across the sea to England as a lot of valuable gems were found globally, especially in the "East Indies". Thus global trade and empire played a role in sourcing materials for rings. Although used for things like false teeth, ivory was also a material that was used in rings along with enamel in the eighteenth century. Rings of lesser value could be made of copper, or of brass however the latter material was unfavourable and has been described as "poison-breeding" perhaps in reference to copper toxicity.
| Material |
Sourced From |
Notable Facts |
Value
(18th Century)
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Value
(21st Century)
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Gold |
Gold was mined globally
There were mines in Brazil which were mostly owned by the Portuguese who had made many settlements in Brazil.
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These mines attracted lots of foreigners to come in and mine for gold.
The Portuguese King had control of the country and it was through these mines that gold flooded into the European market in the 1760s.
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1700s:
10-20 shillings
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2005:
£38.30 -£76.59
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| Silver |
Silver was mined globally but was especially found in South America, specifically Peru.
It was the Spanish who had settlements in America and were involved in the silver trade. These were worked on by native Americans |
These mines were first discovered in the 1500s
Work was often fatal due to the poisonous air in the mines at the time
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| Diamond |
Diamonds were also found in Brazilian mines Slaves were used in the eighteenth century to mine these diamonds |
Diamonds were often smuggled from Brazil as there was initially restricted trade to not flood the Indian diamond market/trade. |
1772:
40 shillings
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2005:
£127.38
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| Ruby |
Rubies were found globally including the "East Indies", Brazil, Hungary and Siberia |
A ruby that was greater than 3 carats, was worth more than a diamond of equal weight |
1793:
1 carat - 10 guineas
2 carats - 40 guineas 3 carats - 150 guineas
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2005:
1 carat -£588.30
2 carats - £2,356.06
3 carats -
£8,796.71
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| Sapphire |
"East Indies" |
Used in clockwork, along with rubies
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1793:
10 carats - £50
20 carats - £200
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2005:
10 carats - £2,829.52
20 carats - £11,234.02
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Topaz
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These were found globally including India, Egypt, Brazil and Sibera, as well as a little more locally in Scotland. |
The Prince of Orange owned the largest rough topaz, at 7 inches
The "Great Mogul" owned one valued at 157 carats |
valued by multiplying its weight by 15 or 16 shillings |
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| Ivory |
Ivory was sourced from India, Sri Lanka and Africa |
Ivory was often a base material from bezels. Designs were painted on top of ivory bezels, often using watercolours. |
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The value of rings can be determined by the class of person that owned them, and it was most notably royalty and the upper classes. This is exemplified throughout eighteenth century history as numerous accounts record the exchange of valuable gifts and jewellery especially among royalty. These exchanges marked rings amongst a valuable set of assets associated with high social status. This status is demonstrated in Pamela where our eponymous heroine finds herself overdressed with the addition of a jewellery set made of diamonds that have been gifted to her.
"Why, truly, for a pair of diamond ear-rings, a necklace, and a diamond ring for my finger; which would not become me: For a few paltry fine clothes, which, when I wore them, would make but my former poverty more ridiculous to every body that saw me; especially when they knew the base terms I wore them" (Pamela, Kindle Location 3080)
A similar association between wealth and rings is made in Fanny Hill where Fanny observes a "gentleman". She notes his clothes as plain but the emphasis is on the size of the diamond ring on his finger, something that marks out his importance and status in her eyes
"I ventured to look up to him, and observed his figure, which was that of a very well-looking gentleman, well made, of about forty, dressed in a suit of plain clothes, with a large diamond ring on one of his fingers, the lustre of which played in my eyes as he waved his hand in talking, and raised my notions of his importance." (Fanny Hill, Kindle Locations 999-1000)
Theft
"What of Bob Booty, Husband? I hope nothing bad hath betided him. You know, my Dear, he's a favourite Customer of mine. 'Twas he made me a present of this ring."
- The Beggar's Opera, Kindle Locations 49-50
As you can see from Mrs. Peachum's speech in Gay's The Beggar's Opera rings were certainly very valuable and because of this they were also quite often stolen. Whilst theft of rings could seem like a difficult and violent crime - having to pull the object off someone's finger - the most common kind of theft was through grand larceny. Pick-pocketing and highway robbery were uncommon but did occur. Quite often these rings would end up in pawnbrokers, allowing thieves to both get rid of the item and gain some money immediately. This need to pawn rings for money is reflected in eighteenth century literature in the play The Disbanded Officer (1786) where the colonel must pawn his ring. As demonstrated by this extract it was not just stolen rings that found their way to the pawnbrokers, the pledging of such valuable pieces of jewellery enough to get some money for troubled times.
The Disbanded Officer (1786)
Col. I must at any rate get out of this house. But what shall I do to pay the fellow?
(feels in his pockets, takes out a ring in a case, and muses)
Here, Rohf, take this ring.
Rohf. Yes Sir.
Col. Yet no, I cannot spare it---this ring---no, I would not part with it for Golconda! Rohf, have I nothing left that we might raise the landlord's money on?
Rohf. Nothing, Sir; if it were not for the bag in his hands, 'twere no matter if he had all the rest for his securities; but Warman's money is, I am sure---
Col. A sacred trust:---Here, Rohf, take this ring.
Rohf. And sell it, Sir?
Col. Heaven forbid!---pledge it, do you hear---only pledge it, mind. (page 15)
Lost or stolen rings would often be reported as such in newspapers such as the Post Boy or Post Man and the Historical Account often with the promise of a monetary reward in return for it. It is interesting to note that some adverts would specify that there would be no further questions asked or that there would be no further consequences to hand in lost or stolen coins, just the reward. This was probably due to the harshness of the punishment for these kinds of crimes in the eighteenth century. The punishment for theft of valuable objects such as rings that were often stolen alongside objects such as silverware, petticoats and shoe buckles included branding and transportation.
Punishments varied for these thefts varied of course. If stolen from the household, the punishment was more often branding. This, for a short time in the early eighteenth century, was a punishment where thieves were branded on the cheek rendering them unemployable. Another major punishment was transportation, done at the expense of the criminals themselves - an alternative to the death penalty. Both men and women would steal rings and it is interesting to note that a majority of crimes related to the theft of rings occurred within people's homes and shops. Many servants had ease of access to rich households and crimes such as highway robbery would require a greater risk and more violence (including, it is noted in some cases, stabbings).
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Image 2: From Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 10th April 1793
This source is part of testimony from John Delafontaine a police officer from bow street, who describes searching for pawnbrokers and coming across a stolen gold ring from a burglary case
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With This Ring I Thee Wed:
Rings as Symbolic of Love & Marriage
Rings have been a symbol of love for hundreds of years and in the eighteenth century this was still the case. Rings were part of the nuptial ceremonies that symbolised marriage in much the same way they are today. Rings were exchanged during the ceremony and were symbolic of completing it with the words "With this ring I thee wed", a variation from which the modern ring exchanging and vows exchanged between the bride and groom that comes with it.
As seen in Richardson's Pamela they were not simply a symbol of love, but of marriage too;
"...the words of betrothment; and the ceremony of the ring passing next, I received the dear favour at his worthy hands with a most grateful heart; and he was pleased to say afterwards in the chariot, that when he had done saying, With this ring I thee wed, etc. I made a courtesy, and said, Thank you, sir" (Kindle Locations 5386-5388). Pamela here demonstrates the link between the material ring and the spiritual ceremony of marriage, something that is brought up later on when she is accused of a false marriage. There again, it is stated "She said, I must know I was not really married, that my ring was only a sham" (Kindle Locations 6434-6435).
Specifically romantic rings were marked apart from other rings in a number of different ways. Rings often engraved with the name of a significant other, it was also common practice in the eighteenth century to entwine locks of hair into the ring - hair would be plaited and placed under the bezel of a ring.
One of the popular designs for wedding rings included the 'fede' or 'Claddagh' rings - these rings came from as far back as Roman times. Whilst 'fede' rings, coming from the Italian word meaning 'faith' were a design with two hands intertwined, 'claddagh' rings, named after the Irish village, featured the inclusion of a crowned heart in between the hands. These rings were often used for weddings and betrothals as the clasped hands mimicked hands being clasped in marriage ceremonies. The couple's initials were often inscribed into the band and therefore they were considered symbolic of love and fidelity. However, the rings were not exclusively used for wedding ceremonies and could also be worn as symbols of friendship. The different parts that make up the claddagh ring - the heart, the hands and the crown - were also symbolic of love, loyalty and friendship respectively.
But why were rings so symbolic of love? The material of the ring was said to signify the durance of the partnership, hence gold being not only more monetarily valuable, but as more durable material to work with, more symbolically valuable. Wedding rings were worn on the fourth finger of the left hand, a practice that survives to this day. A popular eighteenth century factoid, something else that we have inherited is the notion that the ring finger was chosen because it has a vein that is directly linked to the heart, the vena amoras. Again, this represents a symbol of marital love. As demonstrated in a poem entitled On a Wedding Ring by Edward Perronet the dual symbol of rings as one for love as well as for marriage. It is first referred to as a "simple emblem" of love as well as an emblem of "nuptial union". This poem follows a tradition of using rings as symbolic of love, something that was a common theme in eighteenth century poetry as it is today.
Rings as Symbolic of Mourning
Mourning Ring
n. now hist.
a ring worn as a memorial of a deceased person
Rings were used in the eighteenth century in the same manner that they are today as valuable objects or to mark marital status. However, our predecessors' rings varied slightly and what struck my interest was the prevalence of mourning rings that were used in memorial of a loved one. These rings were worn by loved ones' spouses, friends and family members. Rings could therefore be simultaneously seen as a symbol of love and as memento mori. Rings representing romantic love and mourning rings were similar in two ways; the first that both were often engraved with either loving inscriptions or a loved one's initials and the second that both would have hair braided into a plait and place behind the bezel. Though mourning rings could be simple jewels on a band of gold, it was common fashion in the eighteenth century for rings to have a weeping willow, drooping flowers or an urn inscribed into the bezel these images being symbolic of mourning. Mourning rings have been passed around funerals from around the sixteenth century and people would leave money in their wills to allow family and friends to make rings such as those as depicted below.
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Image 6: Mourning Ring/Wedding Ring, 1780, V&A Collections
This ring is inscribed with 'I cherish even her shadow' in French around the bezel
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Image 7: Mourning Ring, 1788, V&A Collections
Gold mourning ring enamelled in white, set with pearls and rose-cut diamonds.
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A popular poem at the time about a mourning ring appearing in various different magazines and periodicals such as The Weekly Entertainer and The Weekly Miscellany by Mrs. H Wakeford entitled On Receiving a Mourning Ring:
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| Image 8: from The Weekly Entertainer |
Overview
As you can see, rings have played a very similar role throughout their history. In the eighteenth century in particular it is true that rings were symbols of mourning and often used for official seals and given as part of official positions. However for the most part, they were used and thought of in a similar manner they are today. Thus rings in eighteenth century literature appear in very much the same manner that they appear in contemporary literature. Rings were and still are symbols of love and these were often used in poetry as such. Whilst I have only quoted from a handful of poetry such as Hymn XXII. St Bartholomew and On a Wedding Ring, the symbolic nature of rings lent itself well to eighteenth century romantic poetry. The overlap between the use of romantic rings and mourning rings was also exploited in literature, as demonstrated in Inchbald's A Simple Story where Miss Milner "on that first wedding-day [...] felt an excruciating shock; when, looking on the ring Lord Elmwood had put upon her finger, in haste, when he married her, she perceived it was a- mourning ring"(160). This would have been an easy mistake to make with the kind of loving inscriptions and use of initials carved into both wedding and mourning rings and the similarity of fashion amongst wedding and mourning rings. Rings in eighteenth century literature were depicted as being valuable both monetarily as well as symbolically, something that is demonstrated in Pamela quite well; first when she is embarrassed at owning too valuable a ring and then when she talks about the inclusion of the ring in the wedding ceremony. In short, the manner in which rings are thought of today is not dissimilar to how they were thought of in the eighteenth century and the literature proves it.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Anderson, James (ed.). A Table of Gems Continued. The Bee : or Literary weekly intelligencer 13 (Jan 23, 1793): 121-128. British Periodicals. Web. 26 Feb 2016
This document was a fairly thorough look at a selection of various gemstones, including rubies and sapphires. It outlined the varieties of different gems, their form, their properties and most importantly for me where they were found and what they were worth at the time. This provided specific detail on where precious stones were sourced in the eighteenth century and by extension an insight on the global nature of these jewels. Many were said to be found in the Eastern part of the world and thus suggested the importance of the role of empire in ring-making.
Anon. A Description of the Silver Mines in Potosi, a Province of Peru, in South-America; with the Nature of the Ore, and the Method of extracting the Silver from it. Universal magazine of knowledge and pleasure, June 1747-Dec. 18039.61 (Oct 1751): 179-182. British Periodicals. Web. 26 Feb 2016
This document was a comprehensive look at silver mining from the people who mined for silver, to the quality of silver found in the mountains and also spoke about how it was extracted. This was useful to me in establishing silver as a globally sourced material and placed rings into the context of empire. It also briefly looked at the exploitative nature of the silver mines accounting for the deaths of miners.
Anon Arctic News. ARCTICUS. The Bee : or Literary weekly intelligencer 12 (Dec 5, 1792): 181-183. British Periodicals. Web. 26 Feb 2016
An additional source on rubies that worked well in conjunction with A Table of Gems.
Anon. Of the Origin of RINGS, their Matter and Uses; and of the supposed Virtue of the rarest Stones which are usually set in them.
Universal magazine of knowledge and pleasure, June 1747-Dec. 1803
24.163 (Jan 1759): 8-12. British Periodicals. Web. 24 Feb 2016.
This magazine article provided an eighteenth century perspective on the history of rings and established a historical notion of rings originating in Graeco-Roman mythology. It also confirmed the historical use of rings as pieces of jewellery and as nuptial symbols.
Anon. The Matrimonial Ring. The Weekly entertainer : or, Agreeable and instructive repository, Jan. 6, 1783-Dec. 27, 181927.677 (Feb 1, 1796): 97-97. British Periodicals. Web. 20 Feb 2016.
This source was a short article and was useful in describing the nature of wedding rings and the symbols associated with them – some of which survive to this day.
Anon. The Wedding Ring; or the History of Miss Sidney. The London review of English and foreign literature9 (Jun 1779): 428-428. British Periodicals. Web. 20 Feb 2016.
This source, although short at only a paragraph long, provided an insight into lesser materials used for wedding rings. In this case brass which may have been linked to copper toxicity.
Eighteenth Century Journals. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 Jan. 2016.
I used this database mostly to look up lost or stolen rings. By looking at personal ads in newspapers such as Post Boy or Post Man and the Historical Account. I determined again the value of rings in the eighteenth century – anything worth stealing must have some significant monetary value. This also determined how people in the eighteenth century would try to retrieve their valuables. These adverts would often specify no punishment for returning stolen goods (whether that was true or not was not established in my research) which further emphasised the harsh nature of punishment.
Kelly, Hugh (ed.).Conclusion of the Portuguese Settlements in the Brazils. Court magazine, 1761-Feb. 1763 (Aug 1762): 546-550. British Periodicals. Web. 26 Feb 2016.
This document outlined the nature of the Portugeuse settlements and mining in Brazil of gold. It provided an insight on the very global nature of materials such as gold much like the document on silver mining. It also further established jewellery such as rings as a fairly valuable commodity by placing them in the context of empire.
Old Bailey Records. "Results - Central Criminal Court". Oldbaileyonline.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Jan. 2016.
The Old Bailey records were especially useful in determining the value of rings. Again, mentions of what the rings were made of clarified the prevalence of certain materials in the eighteenth century, such as gold, as well as providing evidence on the monetary value of rings – especially as many were pawned. These records showed a consistent interest in theft of rings over the century and shed some light on how rings were most commonly stolen and by whom. These highlighted how servants were often the ones stealing from their households (perhaps encouraging contemporary stereotypes of thieving maids) and also the often harsh nature of punishment for said theft.
V&A Collections. "The Collections | Victoria And Albert Museum". Collections.vam.ac.uk. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.
This is part of the Victoria and Albert Museum's website and showed items from their physical collections. This proved to be a very valuable resource not only providing photographs of actual eighteenth century rings, but also lots of information on the rings including the date they were made, the materials used and some historical context. Often it was the historical information provided alongside certain rings that allowed me to find a starting point for my research on the databases.
Secondary Sources
"Currency Converter | The National Archives". Nationalarchives.gov.uk. N.p., 2016. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.
This was a historical currency converter and was useful in converting values of the materials used for rings from eighteenth century currency to twenty-first century currency determining how expensive and valuable rings were in the eighteenth century. It was quite useful for converting from pounds, shillings and pence however as some of the conversions I needed required guineas too I had to use this website in conjunction with another website.
Cleland, John. Memoirs Of Fanny Hill A New and Genuine Edition from the Original Text. London, 1749. Kindle Edition.
Whilst this book focuses mostly on Fanny's sexual exploits, there is quite a lot on female consumer culture, outlining Fanny's clothes and other material objects she gains in her life of prostitution. However, there was surprising little on rings and when there was the focus was not on the rings that she owned. The lines I have referenced above however are fairly useful in establishing the idea that rings are equal to status and importance.
Gay, John. The Beggar's Opera. London 1728. Kindle Edition.
Rings are only mentioned once in this but the inclusion of them links to the idea of rings being valuable enough to be worth stealing as demonstrated by the corrupt Mrs. Peachum who claims it is a present that has been given to her.
Inchbald. A Simple Story . London 1791. Kindle Edition.
This very nicely demonstrated the overlapping designs of wedding rings and mourning rings.
Johnstone, James. The Disbanded Officer. 1786. Web. Literature Online. 4 Jan 2016
Provided a good example of rings being pawned by those other than thieves.
Oxford English Dictionary. 2016. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
Provided definitions for both contemporary rings and historical mourning rings.
Perronet, Edward. On a Wedding Ring. 1785. Web. Literature Online. 4 Jan 2016
This, along with many other poems I found on Literature Online, demonstrated the popularity of rings as an image for love and for marriage.
Richardson, Samuel. Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded. London 1740. Kindle Edition.
The lines I have used in the wiki page demonstrated to me the significance of rings both through their value and their associations with the marriage ceremony.
Smart, Christopher. Hymn XXII. St Bartholomew. 1722-1771. Web. Literature Online. 4 Jan 2016
This poem was helpful in noting the use of jewels in ring and the lines quoted above help establish the global nature of these very jewels.
"Understanding Old British Money - Pounds, Shillings And Pence". Projectbritain.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.
This helped me understand the conversions and value of old British money and I used this website in conjunction with The National Archives website to gain a more accurate understanding of the value of certain materials from the eighteenth century.
Images
1. Enamelled Copper Ring. 2016. Photograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Web. Victoria and Albert Museum Collections. 5 Mar. 2016.
2. Proceedings Of The Old Bailey, 10th April 1793, Page 69. 2016. Web. British Periodicals. 13 Mar. 2016.
3. Claddagh Ring. 2016. Photograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Web. Victoria and Albert Museum Collections. 13 Mar. 2016.
4. Modern Claddagh Ring. 2016. Web. My Irish Jeweller. 13 Mar. 2016.
5. Vena Amores. "Il Dito Del Cuore – Deeario – Il Blog Di Tony Siino". Deeario.it. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
6. Mourning Ring/Wedding Ring. 2016. Photograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Web. Victoria and Albert Museum Collections. 20 Dec 2015.
7. Mourning Ring. 2016. Photograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Web. Victoria and Albert Museum Collections. 20 Dec 2015.
8. Anon, The Weekly entertainer : or, Agreeable and instructive repository, Jan. 6, 1783-Dec. 27, 181910.256 (Nov 26, 1787): 528-528. Web. British Periodicals. 26 Feb 2016
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