design, or even a model. The initial process consists in cutting this
object exactly as it will appear when it is finished,--or such parts of
it as are made by measure,--on what is known as a “hub” made of soft
steel. When the design is finally completed, it is hardened by heating
and then by dipping into water, oil or other solution. When the metal
hub has been hardened, it is forced into a mass of soft steel by great
pressure, usually hydraulic, producing a die, as it is termed, on which
all the ornamentation is the reverse of that on the desired object.
This die is then hardened.
The die is placed on the stand of the drop press, the upperweight
strikes it and forces the metal into it; this requires from four or
five to seven or eight operations. Each time the metal is struck it is
annealed, then restruck and again annealed, until the ring is ready
for trimming. This trimming removes all the superfluous metal, and the
ring is then in condition for the jeweller to bend it into a complete
circle.
In the manufacture of many rings, the metal first receives a special
form. The gold plates are blanked and rolled to a definite thickness
according to the pattern of the ring desired, the width being
controlled by screws attached to the rolls themselves. To obtain the
exact width, the measure in which it is placed can be adjusted to cut a
strip of metal from a millimeter, or thinner, up to several inches in
width. It is slid over a roll and two wheels with sharp edges separate
the mass of gold into exactly the desired widths. The gauges are so
exact as in one instance to provide 16 variations to a millimeter,
approximately 1/25 of an inch. Another screw gauge is so delicate that
it can be adjusted to the four-thousandth of an inch.
Each piece is then put in a cutter exactly the outline of the
desired piece, which, for a ring, is usually quite flat. The piece
of metal then drops into a cutting box and a number can be struck
out successively by simply raising the press and allowing the cutter
to come down. The metal is now placed in another roll, which, in
the case of the signet ring, rolls the sides thinner than the head.
When this process is completed the product is put in a gauge measure
which measures the length of the ring from 0.4 to size 13, on Allen’s
standard gauge. The ends of the metal are then cut off so that the
ring is approximately the desired size, and the ends are annealed or
soldered without any further operation.
[Illustration: PRODUCTION OF RINGS WITH PRECIOUS STONE SETTINGS
BY MEANS OF MACHINERY
1, original blank struck from plate of metal. 2, same raised,
with claws pointing upward. 3, same reduced. 4, first strike of a
one-piece ring. 5, second operation. 6, third operation. 7, 8, 9,
10, 11, 12, 13, successive stages in the manufacture of a gallery
for the ring]
[Illustration:
SUCCESSIVE STAGES IN THE FORMATION OF A RING (MACHINE MADE) FROM
THE SHAPED, BENT, UNORNAMENTED BAR TO THE FINISHED RING]
In most cases when striking a signet-ring, the top is not cut out
entirely. The gold backing of the stone is left, and the head of the
ring is struck with a concave space so that when the two sides are
brought down the space will remain flat. For transparent stones, the
top is cut out of the setting entirely. When the rings are finally
completed they are cleaned by what is known as a stripping wheel,
the reverse of a plating wheel, which removes all the fire-markings,
and all the other impurities that exist, leaving the metal clean.
The rings are then polished by rapidly revolving wheels of hair,--at
times, of other materials. After this, the stones are set. If the rings
need engraving, they are then passed to an engraver and are finally
polished, leaving the metal entirely finished.
In former times, and now also, by hand methods one man would frequently
make an entire ring. By modern methods, the ring passes through
the hands of a number of workers: first, the blank-maker, then in
succession the man who operates the drop press, the jeweller, the stone
setter, the engraver, and finally, the polisher.
As to the statistics of ring-making, with the great demand throughout
the United States a single factory has produced 3,000,000 rings a year,
some selling for less than $1.00 each, and on up to $5.00 and $10.00
each; very occasionally for higher prices, up to $50.00 or $60.00.
Recently to fill an order for a chain of popular shops, this factory
turned out 2,000,000 rings to be sold at ten cents apiece. In the
region of Providence, Rhode Island, and the nearby Attleboro, Mass.,
the total value of the annual ring output, which gives employment to
some two thousand persons, is put at $5,000,000. In a factory of the
largest kind, frequently the various parts for making up a ring may be
kept in small boxes, because a stamper, in making an intricate ring, is
able to produce more in one day than a jeweller can finish in a week.
In simple rings, however, the jeweller finishes as many rings as the
stamper can produce in a day.
There is no piece of jewellery that is more generally worn nor whose
possession causes more joy, than a finger ring. And the proper fitting
of a ring for comfort in wearing it, or to prevent its loss, which
frequently would be looked upon almost as a calamity, is something that
can be attained by careful adjustment to the proper size. Many fingers
taper forward. In other fingers, the knuckle is very large and the
third joint much smaller than the knuckle. Where the finger tapers from
the joint at the hand to the tip it is frequently difficult to make a
ring hold properly. But this can be done by wearing a tiny guard ring.
In cases where the finger is much smaller between the third and fourth
joint the ring will turn around, which is not only uncomfortable but
makes the ornaments fail to show properly. This can be prevented by
having the hoop penannular in shape, or by the addition of an internal
spring.
To prevent the rubbing together of two rings worn on the same finger,
and the resulting attrition, which in the lapse of years sometimes
wears down a gold ring until the hoop becomes so thin that it may
crack, a simple device has been patented. This is a narrow circlet
which may be made of ivory or any other suitable material. It has a
thin vertical flange just high enough to interpose between the rings
that are to be kept apart, and two horizontal flanges to pass beneath
the hoops of the rings.
To protect two rings from rubbing against each other, an exceedingly
narrow gold circlet is worn between them. Where there is risk that a
hard stone in one ring will come in contact with a pearl in the other,
or a diamond with any other stone, necessarily softer, one or more very
small beads are welded on that part of the hoop nearest to the setting.
In cases where a treasured ring has worn almost to the thinness of
paper, it is possible to strengthen it by adding gold at either side of
the hoop.
[Illustration: THE “ALLEN RING GAUGE”
Generally used in the United States for measuring accurately the
size of the ring required to fit a given finger]
[Illustration: 1, Engelmann’s ring, finger and millimeter locking
gauge.
2, “Display rings,” in which a succession of precious stones can
be set and tried on the fingers]
The size of the finger is often recorded by what is known as the Allen
gauge, a tapering stick numbered from 1 to size 13 in half sizes. To
this stick is attached a chain, and pendant to the chain is a series
of rings of graduated sizes. When it is decided which ring of the
series best fits the finger, it is slipped on the gauge and its size
ascertained. If size 6 is a little tight and 6½ a trifle loose, this
indicates that 6¼ is the correct size.
In measuring the finger for a ring, by Engelmann’s Ring, Finger
and Millimeter Locking Gauge, the ring is set _over_ the
_outside_ perpendicular ends of the gauge (see plate). These are
then separated to their fullest extent, so that they touch the ring on
both sides. The exact size of the ring is thus indicated on the scale
over the mark on the movable upper part of the right-hand end.
To measure the size of a finger, the ends should be separated
sufficiently to permit the finger to pass through the aperture between
them. They are then to be closed so as to touch lightly--not pinch or
squeeze--the flesh of the finger. When this has been done the ends are
locked, and if the knuckle passes easily through the aperture, the
right size has been found. This is recorded on the scale in the same
way as in the ring measurement. In measuring the finger of either a
child, boy, girl, or woman, who has not a large or high knuckle, a safe
rule is to add a ½ _ring-size_ to that which has been indicated by
the measurement.
The width of the metal ring-shank is ascertained by placing its lower,
centre part between the two inside perpendicular ends, and the exact
dimensions will be made apparent on the millimeter scale. Where the
shank is tapered, the maximum and minimum widths must be taken, and
these must both be stated in ordering a ring.
An unset stone is to be measured in the way just described, maximum and
minimum widths being taken; for this purpose also, only the extreme
pointed ends are to be used; these dimensions should be correctly
stated when the ring is ordered.
To alter a ring to any size, place the lower, centre part of the shank
_over_ the scale and estimate the width of metal to be taken off
or added, respectively, by the millimeter-lines.
Where the proper measuring devices are not attainable, resource may be
had to various simple expedients. For instance, a bit of copper wire
can be used; one end is turned so as to form an eye, and through this
the other end is drawn until the circle fits the finger; the free end
is then twisted to keep it from slipping back. In this way the exact
size of a finger can be obtained. It is also possible to have the wire
notched so as to indicate the standard numbers of rings, or better
still, to have them stamped on a narrow, flat strip of copper or steel
with a slot at one end, through which the other end can be passed and
turned down when the band has closely encircled the finger. Of course,
these simple methods need only be resorted to when the prospective
buyer is ordering a ring by mail or messenger, as jewellers are always
provided with instruments for taking the exact measurement of the
fingers.
A new and practical invention is that of a “display ring,” by means
of which the jeweller can enable anyone who desires to order a ring,
to judge of the effect of various stones when worn as ring settings.
This little device is open at one end, the metal band being flexible
enough to yield to slight pressure applied to both sides. In front,
on either side, are two claws, which open up and grasp the stone when
the pressure is relaxed. Thus one gem after another can be displayed.
Sets of these display-rings are made comprising eighteen different
sizes.[590]
When a ring has become painfully and injuriously tight on a finger,
a simple method and often efficacious, for its removal, is to take
several feet of cotton cord, soak this in soapsuds, glycerine, or oil,
and pass one end of it under the ring, leaving about six inches loosely
hanging down. The other end of the cord is then to be wound tightly
around the finger, beginning close to the ring and continuing over the
middle joint up to the end of the finger. If left on for a while, the
cord compresses the flesh to such an extent that when it is unwound by
pulling at the loose end hanging down from the base of the finger, the
ring will be gradually and painlessly forced off. In very serious cases
it is safest to file through the hoop and bend it open sufficiently
to free the finger. The trifling injury to the ring can easily be
repaired, leaving it in all respects in its original condition.
A ring that fits too tightly may become a source of serious injury to
the wearer in course of time. This applies especially to engagement
or wedding-rings, for many wearers have a sentimental, or even
superstitious disinclination to remove such a ring after it has once
been placed on the finger by the cherished donor. Slight as the effects
appear to be, since the progressive tightening is so very gradual,
there have been cases where the increasing plumpness of a hand has
caused the pressure of the ring to become so intense as to induce an
affection of the arm, rendering it liable to serious trouble in case of
an attack of rheumatism or a severe cold. In some cases, when such a
tight ring has been cut from the hand, the present writer has seen that
the entire finger under the ring was an open wound, occasionally a deep
one.[591]
Throughout Europe--England and the Continent--narrow gold rings are
generally worn, almost invariably of 22-carat gold; among the poorer
classes, the standard falls to 18-carat--never lower. In the United
States the correct wedding ring is a 22-carat ring, but away from the
large cities and among their less prosperous inhabitants 18-carat rings
are worn to a considerable extent. These are often two, three, or four
times the weight of the European 22-carat ring, flatter and sharp on
the edges, thus cutting the finger. Frequently perspiration under the
ring will cause the finger to become sore and infected. The narrow ring
is more rounded on the inside and never infects the finger in any way.
Charges of selling illegally stamped wedding-rings have recently been
preferred in a New York court. The proceedings were instituted under
paragraph 431 of the Penal Law. The marking in one case was “14 Kt.
¹⁄₁₀,” this having been stated to signify that nine-tenths of the
metal was 14-carat gold and one-tenth of some baser metal. The real
meaning, however, appears to be that one-tenth is of 14–carat gold,
the remaining nine-tenths being alloy. The ring was found to weigh 72
grains, and on being tested at the United States Assay Office, the
fineness of the entire metal was determined to be 52/1000, equivalent
to a fineness of but 12½ carats for the one-tenth represented to be
of 14–carat gold. The utmost variation from standard permitted by the
statute is one carat. The quantity of pure gold in such a ring would
only be about 3¾ grains, worth a fraction over 16 cents. The rings were
sold for $3.75 and $4.
An alarm ring, giving the wearer timely notice if its stone setting
should fall out, has recently been invented. Beneath the stone, a
needle traversing the ring is so adjusted to a coiled spring that if
the stone drops out, the spring is released, and the needle-point gives
a slight prick to the wearer’s finger. The idea is ingenious enough
and the ring may find favor among those who value their ring-stones
enough to endure a “sharp reminder” of their loss when this helps their
recovery.[592]
A curious and interesting example of inlaying, is a gold ring owned
by B. G. Fairchild, Esq., of New York. In the flat bezel have been
inserted two winged figures, cut in intaglio on pieces of brown
chalcedony. As there is no margin of stone showing about the figures,
the effect is very striking, the chalcedony appearing to be naturally
embedded in the gold. This is a production of antique art.
In designing a ring the goldsmith must constantly bear in mind that
only the upper part, less than half the circle, will be displayed,
and he should thus carefully avoid regarding the whole ring as an
ornamental object and chasing or adorning the part that will not be
shown. To this end he is advised to model the design in wax on the
circlet itself, rather than to work from a sketch or drawing. If any
plant or other nature form enters into his composition, he should,
where possible, have a specimen before him while he works, so that
whatever modifications or adaptations he may make will not violate
the main lines of the natural type. In making a ring of solid metal,
it is either cast in the desired form, or hammered from a cast. After
the metal has been annealed, the design is sketched on in black
water-color; it is then outlined with a small round-edged tracing-tool
and the ground-work is chiselled away. The design can now be finished
with chasing tools.[593]
The making of finger rings as well as of everything else has been
strongly influenced by machine production. Cloth is machine-made,
pictures are lithographed, lace, macaroni, and even small houses are
now produced with an exactness that was never before possible. But,
unfortunately, with the dominance of the “machine-made” product, the
artistic quality is entirely obliterated. Rings are now made in such
vast quantities that exactness of reproduction is the great aim. Thus
while the initial design may possess a certain measure of originality,
the single ring of the type, one out of thousands or tens of thousands
stamped out of the same model, necessarily lacks that personal touch
which alone can produce a truly artistic object.
Names of the Ring[594] in Various Foreign Languages.
Anglo-Saxon Hringe
Arabic Khatam, maḥbas
Babylonian Shemiru, lulimtu?
Bohemian, Serbo-Croatian Kruh, prsten
Bulgarian Prsten
Chinese Pan-chih, chih huan[595]
Danish Ring
Dutch Ring
French Anneau, bague
Gaelic (Erse) Fainne, failbeagh
German Ring
Greek, ancient Δακτύλιος, δακτυλίδιον
Greek, modern Δακτὐλιδι
Hebrew Tabba’ath, ḥotham
Hungarian (Magyar) Gyürü
Italian Anello
Icelandic Hringr
Irish Fainne
Japanese Yubi no wa
Laos Pawp Mü
Latin Anulus, anellus
Lithuanian Ziedas
Persian Angushtar (ḥaḷḳat)
Polish Piercien, krouzek
Portuguese Annel
Roumanian Inel
Russian Koltsó,[596] pérsten[597]
Ruthenian (Little Russian) Persten
Sanskrit Angulîya, anguli mudra
Serbian Prsten
Siamese New nang (nang pet)
Spanish Sortija, anillo
Sumerian MUR (KHAR)
Swedish Ring
Syriac Tab’â, ḥathmâ
Turkish (Osmanli) Yüsük, halqa
Welsh Modrwy
The following hints as to the proper pronunciation of some of the
rare words in the above list have been kindly furnished by Prof. John
Dyneley Prince, of Columbia University, who has also supplied several
of the names:
In _prsten_ (Bulgarian, Bohemian and Serbo-Croatian), the r has a
peculiar rolling sound with an inherent vowel; this cannot be correctly
reproduced in English spelling. The ci of Polish _piercien_ is
pronounced like the Italian ci (chee). Little Russian (Ruthenian)
and Russian _persten_ means literally “finger-thing.” In the
Lithuanian _ziedas_, the z is pronounced like French j, or our z
and azure. The Hungarian gyürü sounds like dyü-rü; it means something
rolled. The ṭ in Hebrew, Arabic and Syriac is an explosive t unknown in
English; the letter rendered by the sign is a deep, guttural and faucal
exhalation. Irish _fainne_ is pronounced fau-in-nye, and the Welsh
_bodrwy_ is sounded as bod-roo-ee.
The word “ring,” _tabba-ath_, appears once in Genesis (xli: 42),
the ring given by Pharaoh to Joseph; six times in Esther iii: 10, 12;
viii: 2, 8 (bis), 10, the ring of Ahasuerus. In the New Testament the
ring is mentioned once in Luke xv: 22, the ring given the Prodigal
Son; and once in the Epistle of James, ii: 2. The word “rings,” as
finger-rings, occurs in Exodus xxxv: 22, of the offerings of the people
of Israel in the desert; in Numbers xxxi: 50; in Canticles v: 14 (this
is probably to be rendered “rods”),[598] and in Isaiah iii: 21. That
rings should be so rarely alluded to in the Old Testament might seem to
prove that they were not as extensively worn in the land of Israel as
some have assumed. The finest ancient Hebrew signet is said to be one
of the time of Jeroboam II, King of Israel (790–749? B.C.),
found at Megiddo. This is the seal of Shemai, the King’s Minister of
State. It is of jasper and bears the finely engraved figure of a lion.
The form is oval and the seal measures 3.7 by 2.7 cm.[599]
INDEX
A
Aah-hotep, Queen, signet of, 117
Abbots’ rings, 280
Abbott, Dr., Egyptian collection of, 118
Abbesses’ rings, 280
Aberdeen, Earl of, 339
Achametis, on dreams of rings, 298
Add-a-link ring, 93
Adjustable rings, 93
Adler, Cyrus, viii
Ælian, 32
African rings, 64, 83, 84, 328
Agate, 81, 87, 335
Agincourt, rings found on battlefield of, 165
_Agla_ motto on healing rings, 339
Agricola, Johannes, on healing rings, 351
Ahasuerus, signet of, 116
Ahlstan, Bishop of Sherbourne, ring of, 271
Albert, Prince, 225
Albertus Magnus, on virtues of talismans, 311
Alexander the Great, signet of, 123
Alfonso X, Lapidario of, 304, 305
Alfonso XIII, old usage said to have been observed at marriage of,
213
Alliot, Hector, viii
Amber, 104, 341
entire rings of, 104
Ambrose, St., 128
Amelia, Princess, Memorial ring of, 43
Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), ring of, 67
American Museum of Natural History, 65
American rings, 17–30, 47, 84, 85, 108
Amethyst, 34, 50, 73, 86, 111, 125, 126, 158, 227, 252, 279, 328,
335
Andalusite, 86
Anglo-Saxon rings, 195
of Bishop Ahlstan, 271
of Ethelswith, 173, 174
of Ethelwulf, 173, 174
Anhalt, princess of, magic ring of, 316, 317
Annay, Sir William d’, ring given to by Richard Cœur-de-Lion, 177
Anne, St., betrothal ring of, 261
Anne of Denmark, 189
Antiochus IV, Epiphanes, signet of, 125
Antoninus Pius, head of, on signet, 140
_Anularius_, a ring-maker, 16
Anuli natalitii, 15
_Anulus pronubus_, 193
Apollonius of Tyana, magic rings of, 296, 325
Aquamarine, 158
Aquinas, St. Thomas, 211
Arabic rings, Mohammed’s seal, 141
with carnelians, 141
mottoes and devices on, 142
Archæological Institute, London, 73
Archers’ rings, 87, 105–108
Aristophanes, of rings, 9
Aristotle, blamed by Plato for wearing rings, 32
Arnulphus, Bishop of Metz, ring of, 269
_Art nouveau_ rings, 87
Artemidora, mummy-case of, 51
Artemidorus, rings in dream-book of, 37
Arundel collection, 171
Arundel, Thomas, keeper of jewels of Edward the Confessor’s shrine,
175
Assyrian and Babylonian rings, 3
ancient contract as to emerald set in one, 4, 5
Assyrian jewellers’ firm, 4
Astle, Thomas, 155
Astrolabe ring, 88
Auckland, Lord, 101
Augustine, St., 299
Augustus, 336, 347
signet of, 130, 131
Aurelian’s seal ring, 133
Austrian rings, 87, 110
Avery, Samuel P., 66
Avitus, Archbishop of Vienne, letter of, describing ring, 266, 267,
277
Aztecs, treasures of the, 19
silversmiths of the, 20
finger-rings of the, 20
B
Bachaumont, Louis Petit de, 76
Bacon, Francis, on telepathic test with a ring, 326, 327
_Bacula_, little rod for rings, 55
Bagobos of Philippine Islands, superstitions of the, 352
Balas-ruby, 276
Bardel, W., x
Barlow, Hon. Peter T., vii, 153
Barr, Miss Ada M., vii
Barrow, F. H., viii
Beatty, W. Gedney, vii
Beauvoisin, Mlle. de, rings owned by, 76
Becket, St. Thomas à, ring taken from shrine of, 182, 183
Beefsteak Club memorial rings, 47
Benedict XIV, 281
Bequests of signets, 149
Berghem Lodowyck van (Louis de Berquen) cuts diamonds for Charles
the Bold, 215
Béquet, Albert, 59
Berlin Mineralogical Museum, 108
Berlin Royal Museum, 67
Bernard of Clairvaux, St., signet of, 145
Bernhard IV, Margrave of Baden, portrait of, 62
Berteildis, wife of Dagobert I, signet of, 138
Beryl, 134, 158, 252, 334, 335
Besborough collection, 73
Betrothal rings, _see_ wedding rings
Bible, rings mentioned in the, 1, 115, 116, 336
Bibliothèque Nationale, 162
Bibliothèque du Roi (later Bibliothèque Nationale), 139
Bingham, Hiram, viii
Inca rings found by, in Peru, 83
Bishop, Heber R., collection, 55, 105, 106
Bishops’ rings, of Allstan, Bishop of Sherborne, 271
of Arnulphus, Bishop of Metz, 269
of Ebba, Bishop of Rheims, 270
of Bishop of Flambard, 275
of Bishop Geoffroy Rufus, 275
of Archbishop Greenfield, 272
of Bishop Hervée, 273
of Hilary, Bishop of Chichester, 272
Innocent III’s definition of, 273
of Archbishop Parker, 276
of Seffrid, Bishop of Chichester, 272
of Archbishop Sewell, 272
of Archbishop Sigfroi, 274
of Bishop John Stanberry, 275
stolen by Piers Gaveston, 276
set with green tourmalines, 276
of Bishop William of St. Barbara, 275
of Bishop Wykeham, 275
of Wytlesey, Archbishop of Canterbury, 275
Blake, W. W., ix
Blakeslee collection, portraits in, showing ring wearing, 62
Bloodstone, 158, 191, 331
Bohemian garnet wings, 109
Boleyn, Anne, sends “cramp rings,” 343
Boniface IV, mention of pontifical ring in decree of, 267
Boniface VIII, ring found in tomb of, 273
magic ring of, 306
_Bonza_, Buddhist priest, rings made by, 82
Boog, Theodore de, xi
“Book of Thetel,” magic ring described in, 311
Borde, Andrew, on cramp rings, 343
Borgia, Cesare, motto in poison-ring of, 37