The online atelier
The family crest signet ring
A family crest signet ring carries a family’s arms on its face, as they were once worn to seal letters. In the online atelier you upload a photograph of your arms — a drawing, an old engraving, the impression of an inherited signet ring — and the engraving is calculated from it, on the face of the band you choose.
Engrave my coat of arms
Engraving a family crest signet ring, step by step
Engraving a signet ring from a coat of arms takes three steps here, and each one shows on the cut piece: the image of the arms, the direction of the engraving, the face that receives it.
I · The photograph of your arms
A sharp image, taken straight on, against a plain background: the drawing of the arms is cut out and engraved. Its framing on the face can be set.
II · For sealing
The engraving is cut in reverse and intaglio: the impression reads the right way round in the wax. The right way round and in relief if the signet ring is only worn.
III · The face and the band
A round face like a seal (La Ronde), oval (L’Ovale, La Pleine), square (Le Coussin) or rectangular (L’Anglaise), in your ring size.
Family arms: what goes on the face?
A full achievement of arms brings together the shield and, often, what surrounds it: a helm or a coronet, a crest, supporters, a motto. On the face of a signet ring — 12 × 14 mm for L’Ovale — these ornaments become too small to read. Most often the shield alone is engraved, sometimes the crest or a single charge of the shield: the piece stays legible, on the finger as in the wax.
Your photograph can therefore show only part of your arms: crop it before uploading, or set the framing on the face.
Family crest signet ring for men or women
La Pleine and its large oval face carry a detailed coat of arms; La Ronde recalls the seal. For a women’s family crest signet ring, La Dame, slender, is worn on the little finger or the ring finger. In heraldry, a woman’s arms are traditionally shown on a lozenge rather than a shield: the engraving follows the drawing you upload.
Your arms, just as you entrust them to us
The atelier engraves the image you upload: it does not draw the arms, nor establish their origin. If your arms exist only as a description — a blazon —, have them drawn first: the atelier engraves a drawing.
The sharper and more contrasted the drawing, the more faithful the engraving: the fine lines of a coat of arms need an image of good resolution. An inherited signet ring can serve as a model: photograph its impression in the wax rather than its face, whose reflections blur the drawing.
Sealing with wax
A sealing signet ring is pressed into the still-warm wax, then lifted away in one straight movement: the intaglio engraving leaves a raised impression, the right way round. The cleaner the hollow, the crisper the impression; the atelier sets its depth, and you see it on the piece before you save it.
The house answers
- How do I have my coat of arms engraved on a signet ring?
- Open the signet ring atelier, upload the photograph of your arms, choose the sealing engraving, then the face, the band and your ring size. The signet ring takes shape before your eyes; an email address is enough to save it.
- Intaglio or relief engraving?
- Intaglio if the signet ring is to seal — the arms read in the wax. Relief if it is only worn: the motif catches the light.
- Do the arms read the right way round in the wax?
- Yes, if you choose the sealing engraving: the face is engraved in reverse, and the impression comes back the right way round.
- Which photograph of the crest should I upload?
- An image at least 256 pixels on each side — far more for fine lines —, in JPEG, PNG or WebP, up to 8 MB. Photograph the drawing straight on, flat, without reflections.
- How much does a family crest signet ring cost?
- Its price depends first on the metal and the weight of the signet ring — the face, the head, the band you choose. The atelier shows that weight, in gold and in silver, at every setting.
- Can the inside of the band be engraved?
- Yes: a date, a motto, a few words engraved inside the band, in the typeface and size you choose.
- Can a piece made to measure be returned?
- A piece made to your measurements and engraved for you is exempt from the fourteen-day right of withdrawal (Directive 2011/83/EU, Article 16(c)). That is why the atelier shows it to you cut, dimension by dimension, before you save it.