A jade signet ring with an assertive character: a large oval jadeite cabochon, in an intense green, set on a square mount in bright silver-toned metal. Fine lines of small white stones underline its shoulders and its flanks.
In four lines
- A large oval cabochon of jadeite, in an intense green.
- A square mount, broad and polished, in silver-toned metal.
- Shoulders paved with small white stones.
- A ring with character, at home on a man’s finger as on a woman’s.
A green you see from across the room
This jade signet ring is built around its stone: an oval cabochon, high and well domed, in a clear, luminous green. The light rolls over the dome; where it strikes, the green lightens, and it deepens towards the edges, where the stone dives into the mount.
It is the green you expect from a jadeite, saturated and alive. It is noticed from a distance, even on a hand in movement, and that is the whole point of a ring of this build.
An architect’s mount
The mount answers the curve of the stone with straight lines: a square table, broad polished flanks, and two rounded shoulders that frame the cabochon at either end. On those shoulders and along the flanks, small white stones set in a line catch the light at every gesture.
The whole design rests on that contrast: the round of the stone, the square of the metal. For another jadeite cabochon, claw set, see also the jade cabochon ring.
The signet ring, a ring with character
The signet ring is the ring that signs. It once carried an engraved seal; today it is worn for its presence, and this one replaces the seal with a stone. In France, tradition places it on the little finger, but nothing stops you wearing it on the ring finger or the index, where it asserts itself more.
Its clean lines make it obvious on a man’s hand. It suits just as well a woman who likes strong rings, worn alone, with nothing around it. The jade jewellery that suits men.
Jadeite, the jade of vivid greens
The word jade covers two minerals. Jadeite is the one of the most vivid greens, which it owes to chromium; its very fine grain takes an almost glassy polish, and that is what makes a dome like this one shine. It is also the harder of the two, 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale. Jadeite or nephrite, what sets them apart.
Choosing your size well
Choose your size in the drop-down above the buy button: the French size is your finger circumference in millimetres. Measure in the evening, when fingers are at their largest. A broad mount grips more than a fine band: if you hesitate between two sizes, take the larger.
Choose it with care: a paved mount resizes badly, because the small set stones risk loosening when the metal is worked. Measuring your finger in two minutes.
Wearing it, and keeping it beautiful
A high cabochon is the most exposed part of a hand: take the ring off for sport, for DIY and for the weights room. Now and then, look at the small stones on the shoulders: a stone that moves is easily tightened by a jeweller, provided you notice it early. Hardness and toughness, the difference.
For care, a soft toothbrush, warm soapy water, then careful drying. If the metal dulls, a silver cloth, keeping away from the stone. Never ultrasonic, never steam, never solvent: ultrasound loosens small set stones, and the treatment status of the jade is not known. Care in detail.
