How women are giving the staid signet ring a cool makeover

Cece Fein-Hughes cat signet ring — A ring created for Taylor Swift by British designer Cece Fein-Hughes features a champlevé enamel portrait of the singer's cat - Cece Fein-Hughes

While Swifties give each other friendship bracelets at the pop star’s concerts as a sign of their fandom, Taylor Swift’s own best friend, the model Gigi Hadid, presented her with an altogether more unusual mark of her friendship earlier this week: a signet ring.

As revealed on Instagram, the ring was custom-made by Cece Fein-Hughes, a British designer whose brand Cece Jewellery is known for its fun, personalised signet rings made from 18-carat gold and champlevé enamelling.

The one worn by Swift features a portrait of the singer’s cat, Benjamin Button, enshrined in a lustrous pearl and diamond border.

The sides are decorated with tattoo style flaming hearts, with the numbers 13 (Swift’s lucky number) and 87 (her boyfriend, American football player Travis Kelce’s jersey number) inside.

Finally, there is an engraving underneath – TTPD, which stands for The Tortured Poets’ Department, the name of Swift’s latest album.

Signet rings have always been used as a personal signifer of sorts. Historically, they were emblazoned with a family shield, and dipped in wax to seal a letter – this is where the name “signet” comes from – the Latin “signum” means signature.

Traditionally worn by members of the landed gentry, many aristocratic families still have them today, passing them down through the generations. For years, they’ve typically only been worn by boarding school boys, until a recent boom thanks to Leo Woodall’s character Dexter Mayhew wearing a pinky ring in Netflix hit series One Day earlier this year.

Yet more recently, they’ve also been adopted by women, with the Duchess of Sussex frequently spotted wearing her Missoma “Open Heart” pinky ring, and Rihanna owning a bespoke design by Sophie Breitmeyer, which features her initials, RRF (Robyn Rihanna Fenty).

Indeed, part of the appeal is that they are ideal for someone looking for something customisable like Rihanna or Swift, as Fein-Hughes explains.

Customisable signet rings have a particular appeal, says jewellery designer Cece Fein-Hughes

“The reason that I gravitated towards the signet ring is because it offers a fantastic canvas to personalise jewellery in a way that you can’t really get on a delicate band or stone-focused engagement ring,” she says.

“I think that’s why signet rings at the moment have become something quite cool, rather than just something that toffs wear. Not only are they cool because they are chunky and a statement piece, but the bonus is that you get to decorate them with something really personal.

“I think nowadays in fine jewellery people really want something that has meaning and a story. People create their own personal coat of arms nowadays. That’s what the signet ring can offer.”

Due to the higher price point for such intricate bespoke work, the majority of Fein-Hughes’s customers are older women, predominantly mothers and grandmothers, with a lot of business coming from the US in particular.

“We get a lot of gifts for special occasions, whether that’s births, birthdays, anniversaries… even commemorating a beloved pup or kitten,” she says. She’s worked on some really unusual designs in her time, including a Vetruvian man with Game of Thrones dragons.

“When I read that email I was like ‘wow, this is going to be a challenge,’” she laughs. “We’ve also had a bottle of wine that was personal to someone’s dad’s vineyard, and we’ve got a really cool Birkin bag one coming up too.”

In fact, business was already booming pre the Swift effect (“Taylor Swift can move economies,” Fein-Hughes jokes), with the lead time creeping up to 16-weeks and a waiting list for bespoke designs now in place.

For those seeking something a little more traditional, V by Laura Vann offers a refined option. “All of our signet rings are quite slim and refined in scale,” explains Vann.

“Our Tilly and Jean signets in particular are set with tiny baguette and round cut diamonds and feature intricate Deco inspired open work either side of the central plate which gives a delicate feel to the design.”

Inspired by vintage jewellery, it was a natural move for Vann to design signet rings. “My mum had a signet pinky ring, given to her by my grandma Tilly,” she explains.

“There’s real nostalgia in a signet – so often those rings are passed from one generation to the next. Our signets are continual bestsellers – they’re a real staple for everyone’s jewellery box and being engravable they are giftable year in, year out.”

Connie Nam, founder of Astrid & Miyu, agrees. “We started designing signet rings in 2018 when we introduced our back to basics collection,” she shares.

“Since then, we have introduced them in variations such as a heart signet ring and our mood ring. Signet rings, she concludes “are a good hybrid of heirloom and androgynous.

“They can look very classic, edgy and powerful at the same time.”