Men's Jewellery
Statement chains, signet rings, pendants and bracelets made for men. Solid gold Cuban links, iced-out pendants and bespoke signets commissioned in our London workshop.
Men's jewellery is bought on weight and finish far more than on stone quality, and that makes it unusually easy to compare honestly — if you can get the gram weight and the metal fineness, you know most of what you need to know. The two places it goes wrong are hollow chains sold at solid-chain prices, and signet rings ordered without thinking through the engraving, which cannot be undone.
Choosing men's jewellery
Signet rings: seal or decorative
A true seal signet is engraved in reverse and intaglio — cut into the face — so that it leaves a raised impression in wax. A decorative signet is engraved the right way round to be read on the hand. They are different jobs and different prices, and you have to decide which you want before it is cut, because there is no changing it afterwards. Traditionally worn on the little finger of the non-dominant hand, though that is convention rather than rule.
Stone-set signets
Onyx is the classic face — black, opaque, and it takes a high polish that sets off yellow gold particularly well. It is also relatively soft, so it wants a rubover setting where the metal protects the edges rather than claws that leave the stone exposed. Bloodstone, lapis and carnelian are the other traditional choices. Any of them can be engraved, though onyx is the one that reads most cleanly.
Cuban chains: get the gram weight
The single most useful question is what it weighs. A solid 18ct Cuban and a hollow one of identical width and length look the same in a photograph and differ by a multiple in gold content, in price and in how long they last. Hollow links crush and split under normal wear and are rarely worth repairing. Solid links last a lifetime and can be shortened, lengthened and re-polished.
Metal fineness, and the hallmark that proves it
Nine carat is 37.5% gold and harder-wearing; 18ct is 75% gold, richer in colour and softer. Neither is better in the abstract — 9ct makes sense for a chain worn constantly, 18ct for a piece where the colour is the point. Anything gold over one gram must carry a UK hallmark, which is the independent test of that fineness rather than the seller's word for it.
FAQS
Traditionally the little finger of the non-dominant hand — the left for most people. That convention comes from the ring's origin as a seal, worn where it could be pressed into wax without getting in the way. Plenty of people now wear one on the ring finger or index instead, and there is no rule about it. What matters practically is that little fingers are usually a much smaller size than people assume, so have it measured rather than guessed.
Yes, provided the face is thick enough to take the cut — which is why it is worth saying at the point of ordering that engraving is planned, so the head is made with enough metal in it. Decide early whether you want a seal engraving, cut in reverse so it stamps a raised impression in wax, or a decorative one cut to be read on the hand. The two cannot be converted into one another.
Ask for the weight in grams. There is no reliable way to tell by eye — a hollow Cuban and a solid one of the same width and length look identical — but they differ by a multiple in gold content, so the weight settles it immediately. A seller who will not give you a gram weight for a gold chain is telling you something. Hollow links crush and split with wear and are rarely economic to repair.
Neither is better outright. Nine carat is 37.5% gold, harder and more resistant to scratching and bending, and considerably cheaper — a sensible choice for a heavy chain worn every day. Eighteen carat is 75% gold, noticeably richer in colour and softer, and it is what to choose when the colour is the point. Both are hallmarked at the assay office, which is what independently proves the fineness.