Description
A signet ring with a broad face, where the gold sheen obsidian cabochon is framed by small flowers and a beaded border. It is the only solid setting among the fifteen in the series: all the others are pierced or built on fine shoulders.
A signet ring is not a stone ring mounted on a band: it is a band whose top widens into a face, and the face is one piece with the rest. The difference is felt in the hand, because the mass is spread out instead of being concentrated in a head set on top. A signet ring does not tip over on a slim finger, where a ring with a large head tends to turn.
The decoration is spread over the whole face and not only around the stone. Four small flowers occupy the corners, the beaded border follows the edge of the cabochon, and the hollows are blackened by hand so the pattern reads. The catalog offers the same stone in some fifteen settings, and this is the only one that plays on a surface rather than on a silhouette. The other rings are here.
The reservation is the weight and the bulk. A solid face in sterling silver makes a ring markedly heavier than the pierced settings in the series, and you feel it by the end of the day. It is also wider: it touches the neighboring fingers on a slim hand. If everyday wear is what matters, the fine-shouldered settings are easier to live with. The size guide saves a return.
Crystal lore ties obsidian to grounding, and gold sheen in particular to self-confidence. None of that is proven, and no piece of jewelry heals anything. I have gathered separately what tradition attributes to obsidian, in the conditional from start to finish.
- Genuine gold sheen obsidian, oval cabochon in a closed bezel, no glue.
- Sterling silver 925, solid face, flowers and a beaded border, hollows blackened by hand.
- The only solid setting in the series: it does not tip over on a slim finger.
- Heavier and wider than the pierced settings.
What to know before you wear it
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The specifications
- Stone
- Gold sheen obsidian, volcanic glass, oval cabochon
- Metal
- Sterling silver 925, S925 hallmark
- Setting
- Signet with a solid face, closed bezel, no glue
- Decoration
- Four flowers and a beaded border, blackened hollows
- Sizes
- 52 to 62 (inner circumference in mm)
- Gender
- Unisex
- Brand
- Bijoux Obsidienne
A solid face has weight, and that gets calculated
On a signet ring the distribution of the mass is calculated before any metal is cut, and the classic mistake is making the band too thin under the finger. A heavy face on a slender shank throws the ring off balance: it pivots and the face ends up in the palm, where it gets in the way. The bench rule is that the thickness of the shank under the finger must never drop below a third of the thickness of the face. That is more metal, so dearer, and it is what makes a signet ring sit straight.
This setting is in the catalog because a signet ring is not used the way a stone ring is. It is worn on the little finger or the index, often with no other ring, and it reads from a distance. The pierced settings in the series do not do that job. The other rings are here.
A heavy face on a slender shank pivots, and the ring ends up in the palm. A third of the thickness, never less.
Obsidian does not mind water, but it shatters on impact and scratches against a hard metal. Take the ring off before DIY and sport. Do not polish the blackened hollows of the decoration: the black comes away in a few passes. Cleaning an obsidian piece covers the rest.
