Men rings - How to choose? What do you wear?

[KimNelson]

I studied Gemology & Jewelry in NY too. Went to FIT for a few courses (Jewelry Appraisal, Gem Lab & Diamond Grading). It's just my passion & has been since I was a child. I used to spend lunch hours at my friends FIL's Pawn shop in NY. Picked up many nice things in the late 80's 90's. I still pick up things on the bay...

What do you think of this Lapis? A recent splurge but there is much work in it & it's a huge ring.
I like the older Jewelry Deco up until about 60's. After that most was junk & is junk unless you do the custom high end pieces. I love Platinum & Palladium was a 40's thing at one time. Don't like yellow gold.

Well, for the ladies...

That is a lovely lapis cabochon...it looks like a top quality Afghan stone. You must know my friends Michael Coan, Paul Weisbroat, and Gary Roskin at FIT.
It's a very impressive ring and the amount of work involved is obvious. As a designer, I like whichever metal suits the mounting. Gold is getting pretty insane price-wise, but since it's a piece someone is going to wear for decades, if the effect will be better in yellow gold, I still steer my clients in that direction (the same is true for white gold...but the only white gold I really like is unplated palladium white.)

 

[ShadowXY]

That is a lovely lapis cabochon...it looks like a top quality Afghan stone. You must know my friends Michael Coan, Paul Weisbroat, and Gary Roskin at FIT.
It's a very impressive ring and the amount of work involved is obvious. As a designer, I like whichever metal suits the mounting. Gold is getting pretty insane price-wise, but since it's a piece someone is going to wear for decades, if the effect will be better in yellow gold, I still steer my clients in that direction (the same is true for white gold...but the only white gold I really like is unplated palladium white.)

Don't recall those names. This was the late 80's/ I can't remember the heads name but he had us go to Sotheby's to check out some items. We both agreed a natural pearl necklace was cultured. I convinced him to allow me to take Gem LAb wo Gem 1. I had been studying gems all my life.

I took my Siberian Amethyst ring to gem lab... Its the real deal...

 

[KimNelson]

Don't recall those names. This was the late 80's/ I can't remember the heads name but he had us go to Sotheby's to check out some items. We both agreed a natural pearl necklace was cultured. I convinced him to allow me to take Gem LAb wo Gem 1. I had been studying gems all my life.

I took my Siberian Amethyst ring to gem lab... Its the real deal...

That's fantastic color. Sam Beizer would have been the Chair (I am the Chair now), and we still take students to the auction previews in town; they're outstanding opportunities to see, handle, and discuss major pieces. Working at Carvin French gave me a permanent love and appreciation for gems that still motivates my personal work. I have a Diamonds International award, a PGI award, and a JCK buyer's choice award that I received during my time designing for Stuller in Louisiana, but the aesthetics and passion for high jewelry I developed working with Andre' Chervin remain my foundation.

 

[ShadowXY]

That's fantastic color. Sam Beizer would have been the Chair (I am the Chair now), and we still take students to the auction previews in town; they're outstanding opportunities to see, handle, and discuss major pieces. Working at Carvin French gave me a permanent love and appreciation for gems that still motivates my personal work. I have a Diamonds International award, a PGI award, and a JCK buyer's choice award that I received during my time designing for Stuller in Louisiana, but the aesthetics and passion for high jewelry I developed working with Andre' Chervin remain my foundation.

Nice! It was only a passion but wpuld have loved to work in the industry in some form.

Sam Beizer...vaguely familiar but it was in late 80's so a long time ago. I have an old Gemolite Scope. Gem lab was great to have access to all that equipment. I took all my pieces in to check out.

Ever heard of a jeweler from the 30's named Tally? I splurged on a really great pair of earrings about 10 years ago. Should wear them but they are old thick posts & heavy! Platinum Iriidium

 

[Trouser Bark]

I'm thinking I might finally be breaking in. That hide is starting to show some grain for sure.

 

[Trouser Bark]

Thirty plus years ago I was in the shower and my wedding ring was on the bathroom counter. My two year old daughter walked in to use the toilet and saw my ring on the counter. From inside the shower I heard a metallic sound as if a tuning fork had been tapped against something solid. Then I heard the toilet flush and I have never seen that ring since.

Now I wear whatever I want on that L/H ring finger.

 

[alanfgag]

 

[M Hatman]

This is a custom ring I had made from a Franklin Half Dollar. It is a wedding ring of sorts, I wear it everyday.

 

[Edward]

This is a custom ring I had made from a Franklin Half Dollar. It is a wedding ring of sorts, I wear it everyday.
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I do like a coin ring. I picked up one of these a few years ago on Etsy, and it's one of my most-worn rings:

(Seller's photos, not mine, but identical to my ring.)

I think there are three coins involved here - the hoop itself, the ring on the front, and the setting for the ring on the front. I wear it on my pinky (just have to bed careful of the size of the ring next to it, if I wear one there too, given width here). . It's a lot of fun. Not ideal with gloves (can be worn, but the tend to push the ring round to an odd place), but that's standard for my souvenir rings as well.

 

[GHT]

Following the decimalisation of UK currency back in 1971, (It went from 240 pennies to the pound to 100,) there was a glut of coins. The old sixpenny piece, of which there must have been mega-millions, had been very popular. It was used everywhere from vending machines to phone booths.
The coin was known as a Tanner and when Tina gave me this ring as a gift, she also had the ring's name explained: The name is derived from John Sigismund Tanner, a renowned Chief Engraver of the Royal Mint during the reign of King George II. He designed a sixpence, and his name became associated with the coin.

 

[Edward]

View attachment 769253
Following the decimalisation of UK currency back in 1971, (It went from 240 pennies to the pound to 100,) there was a glut of coins. The old sixpenny piece, of which there must have been mega-millions, had been very popular. It was used everywhere from vending machines to phone booths.
The coin was known as a Tanner and when Tina gave me this ring as a gift, she also had the ring's name explained: The name is derived from John Sigismund Tanner, a renowned Chief Engraver of the Royal Mint during the reign of King George II. He designed a sixpence, and his name became associated with the coin.

Dr. Brian May of Queen fame has spent his musical career using one of these as plectrum. Reputedly he has a whole host of them in stock for this purpose, including a few that at one time were struck up for his private use by the RM, featuring his own profile on them in place of the monarch's.

I remember when the decimal half-penny was taken out of circulation in, was it 1984? There was much the same widespread use of those coins. Blue Peter even did a special on craft projects you could make with them. Etsy is full of many rings and other pieces involving old US coins, as well as pre-decimal British and Irish coinage. The Irish pound existed in some shape or form from 1210, before being eventually folded into Sterling. It remerged as a separate currency of its own in 1928 (during the Free State era), although largely mapped onto Sterling until 1978, when Ireland joining the European ERM led to the 1979 creation of an official exchange rate with Sterling for the first time. The dear old Punt (north of the border, it was always referred to by its Irish name - whereas in the Republic it was just called "the pound" - to distinguish it from the pound Sterling, which was just called the pound. Labels matter in the Six Counties!) disappeared when Ireland joined the Euro and officially replaced the old currency in 2002.

I was always a fan of the old Irish coinage. Being a Republic, rather than have a monarch on the front, the imagery used on Irish coinage was that of the fauna of the island. I was always particularly fond of the post decimal punt coin, with the stag:

Markedly bigger than the British pound coin, more akin to the size and feel of a two-shilling / old 10p coin. A little bigger than a US quarter dollar coin, from memory. You'll see a lot of these, and their pre-decimal counterparts, fashioned into cufflinks (the smaller coins) and all sorts on Etsy. A while back we picked up a pair of cufflinks with a 1965 date as a year-of-birth birthday present for a friend. The old penny was very nice, carried a lovely sculpt of a hare.

 

[GHT]

Markedly bigger than the British pound coin, more akin to the size and feel of a two-shilling / old 10p coin. A little bigger than a US quarter dollar coin, from memory. You'll see a lot of these, and their pre-decimal counterparts, fashioned into cufflinks (the smaller coins) and all sorts on Etsy. A while back we picked up a pair of cufflinks with a 1965 date as a year-of-birth birthday present for a friend. The old penny was very nice, carried a lovely sculpt of a hare.

That punt is a lovely coin, first one that I have seen. You are right Edward, we all had to have cufflinks. The tiepin went with them too.

 

[Grandville]

Found this one in an antique shop a few months ago. Of course, I had to get the bracelet, as well, since they kinda matched. I wear the ring every day, even to work. The bracelet only gets wrist time on my days off. Hope this helps. Rings are like hats. Wear what you like.

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Mesmerizing stuff here sir!

 

[Marvin Berry]

I used to make coin rings, haven't done it in a few years though. My son is starting to make some though.

Here's a few I've made: