Evil Eye Signet Ring
Gold Rope Signet Ring
Ladies Gold Signet Ring
Classic Diamond Initial Signet Ring
Classic Diamond Star Signet Ring
Classic Signet Ring
Diamond Oval Signet Ring
Diamond Baguette Signet Ring
Oval Signet Ring
May Birthstone
May's birthstone is the emerald, a rich green treasured since antiquity. How to wear it, why its markings are normal, and what to know before you buy.
May gets the emerald, and it is one of the great gemstones: a rich, unmistakable green, one of the four precious stones alongside diamond, ruby and sapphire, and a colour so associated with luxury that few others come close. Cleopatra prized emeralds above almost everything, and they have signalled wealth and wisdom ever since.
Emerald is also the one precious stone that asks something of its owner. It is softer than ruby or sapphire and almost always contains natural markings, which changes how you should buy it and how you should wear it. This guide covers all of that honestly: how to wear a May birthstone, why those inclusions are a feature rather than a flaw, what oiling means, and how to care for a stone this special. For every month and stone, see our birthstones by month chart.
Three ways to wear a May birthstone
As a piece in its own right, worn thoughtfully. An emerald pendant or a pair of emerald earrings is the ideal way to enjoy the stone, because a neck and ears take far fewer knocks than a hand. The green is so rich that a modest stone looks generous, and one emerald on a fine gold chain reads as genuinely precious rather than merely pretty.
Set small into something personalised. A small emerald beside an initial, set into an engraved tag, or as a charm on a bracelet. A little emerald green carries a lot of presence, so even a modest stone gives a personalised piece a real sense of occasion, and a smaller, protected stone is the sensible way to own an emerald you can wear often. It is also the natural way to mark more than one person, a stone each for your children along a single bar.
In a protected setting, if you want a ring. Emerald rings are among the most beautiful pieces you can own, but the stone needs looking after: choose a setting that guards the corners, where emeralds are most vulnerable, which is exactly why the step-cornered emerald cut was invented in the first place. Take it off for anything rough, and it will reward you for a lifetime.
Styling emerald with your everyday gold
Yellow gold is emerald's natural and historic partner, and to our eye still the best. Warm gold flatters the green in a way nothing else quite matches, deepening and enriching it, which is why almost every famous antique emerald is set in yellow gold. If you wear yellow gold, an emerald will look as though it belongs.
White gold is the cooler, more contemporary choice and gives a crisper, more modern look, particularly with a bluish-green emerald. It is also the more usual setting when emerald is paired with diamonds, where you want the metals to match.
Rose gold is the unexpected one, and green against pink is a fresh, modern pairing that feels quite different from the traditional emerald look. It is worth considering if you want your May birthstone to feel current rather than heirloom.
Why an emerald has a garden inside
Almost every emerald contains fine internal markings, and the trade has a lovely name for them: the jardin, French for garden. Far from being flaws, they are the fingerprint of a natural stone.
A completely clean emerald is so rare that it usually costs more than a diamond, or is a signal the stone is synthetic. With emerald, what you are looking for is a beautiful, even green with a lively jardin, not the flawless clarity you would want in a diamond.
Colour, oiling, and the one honest question
Colour is the whole game. With emerald, a rich, pure, slightly bluish green is everything, and it matters more than clarity or even size. A large pale emerald is far less desirable than a smaller vivid one. The most celebrated colour comes from Colombia, still the benchmark, with important stones also from Zambia (often a touch bluer) and Brazil.
Almost every emerald is oiled, and that is normal. Because emeralds have so many surface-reaching fractures, they are routinely treated with cedar oil or resin to fill those tiny gaps and improve clarity. This is an ancient, universally accepted practice, and a lightly oiled emerald is completely standard. What you want to know is the degree: "minor" or "insignificant" oiling is ideal, while heavily treated stones rely on the filling to look good and are worth much less.
That oiling is also why emeralds need care: the treatment can dry out or be stripped over time, so an emerald may benefit from being re-oiled by a jeweller after some years. It is not a fault, simply the nature of the stone, and worth knowing before you buy rather than after.
Renewal, love and wisdom
Emerald is a beryl, the same mineral family as aquamarine, coloured green rather than blue by traces of chromium and vanadium. It has been mined for at least 4,000 years, from Cleopatra's mines in Egypt to the Muzo and Chivor mines of Colombia, whose stones filled the treasuries of Europe after the Spanish conquest.
Its meaning has always followed its colour: renewal, rebirth and the green of spring, along with love and wisdom. It was believed to soothe the eyes and to reveal the truth of a lover's promises. It is also the twentieth and thirty-fifth wedding anniversary stone, which makes an emerald piece a natural milestone gift beyond May birthdays.
Agate and chrysoprase
May's older traditional stones are more down to earth and far more affordable. Agate is a banded chalcedony in endless natural patterns, worn for protection and grounding since antiquity and lovely when the banding is used as the whole design. Chrysoprase is an apple-green chalcedony, the fresh, opaque green that gives May a lighter, more spring-like alternative to emerald's depth. Both are harder-wearing than emerald and a gentler place to start if the precious stone feels like a lot.
Caring for emerald
Emerald needs the most careful hand of the precious stones. Never use an ultrasonic or steam cleaner, as the vibration and heat can worsen fractures and strip the oil. Clean it only with lukewarm water, a drop of mild soap and a soft cloth, and dry it gently. Keep it away from hot water, solvents and harsh chemicals, and take an emerald ring off before washing up, gardening or applying perfume. At 7.5 to 8 it resists scratching well, but its internal fractures make it more brittle than that number suggests, so it is the knock, not the scratch, to guard against. Store it separately and, every few years, have a jeweller check whether it would benefit from re-oiling.
May birthstone questions
What is the May birthstone?
May's birthstone is the emerald, a rich green precious stone associated with renewal, love and wisdom. May also has two older traditional alternatives, agate and chrysoprase, both green chalcedonies and far more affordable.
Why do emeralds have inclusions?
Almost all emeralds contain natural inclusions, known affectionately as the jardin, or garden. They are the fingerprint of a genuine stone rather than a flaw, and a completely clean emerald is so rare it usually costs more than a diamond or suggests the stone is synthetic. A lively jardin in a beautiful even green is exactly what to look for.
What does it mean that an emerald is oiled?
Emeralds are routinely treated with cedar oil or resin to fill tiny surface-reaching fractures and improve clarity. It is an ancient, standard and accepted practice. Light oiling is completely normal; heavily treated stones rely on the filling and are worth much less, so it is worth asking the degree.
Is emerald good for everyday jewellery?
With care. At 7.5 to 8 emerald resists scratching, but its internal fractures make it more brittle than harder stones, so it is best worn as a necklace or earrings, or in a ring with a protective setting removed for anything rough. It is not an everyday knock-about stone in the way sapphire or ruby is.
Can emerald be used in an engagement ring?
It can, and antique emerald engagement rings are much loved, but it needs the right setting to protect the stone's corners and a wearer willing to treat it with a little care. A sapphire or ruby is tougher for daily wear, but for the colour, few stones compare.
Is emerald related to aquamarine?
Yes. Both are beryl, the same mineral coloured differently by trace elements: chromium and vanadium make emerald green, while iron makes aquamarine blue. Aquamarine tends to be cleaner and more durable, while emerald is prized for its incomparable green.
Solid Gold. Made to Order. Crafted in Our London Atelier.
Every signet ring at Argent & Asher is made individually once the order is placed — not held in stock, not adjusted from a generic piece. The gold signet rings collection covers plain, diamond-set and initial styles, all made in solid 9ct, 14ct or 18ct gold in our London atelier.
What Is a Signet Ring — and How to Wear One
A signet ring is defined by its flat face. Historically, that face carried a family crest or monogram pressed into wax to seal correspondence — which is why the traditional design is a large, smooth oval or rectangle of gold. The modern interpretation keeps the flat face format but drops the ceremony. It's worn as a signature piece: a ring that's definitively yours, in solid gold, made to last.
Traditionally, a signet ring was worn on the pinky of the non-dominant hand — the convention that gave rise to the pinky signet ring as a category. Today there are no rules. On the index or middle finger it reads as more contemporary; on the pinky, more classic. Both work. The distinction is less about convention and more about which finger you want to draw attention to.
At Argent & Asher, signet ring women styles span five different face shapes and nine designs — from the plain oval Classic Signet Ring to the diamond Evil Eye Signet Ring. Every piece is made in solid gold in the carat you choose.
Plain Gold or Diamond — Choosing Your Signet Ring Style
The choice between a plain gold signet ring and a diamond signet ring is the choice between restraint and detail. A plain gold signet ring has a clean, uninterrupted face of solid gold — it can be worn as it is or engraved with an initial, crest or date. The face is the point: simple, considered, personal in its plainness. It's the traditional interpretation, and for many people, the right one.
A diamond signet ring replaces the plain face with stone-set design. The Diamond Baguette Signet Ring sets a single baguette at centre; the Diamond Oval Signet Ring runs diamonds around the oval perimeter; the Classic Diamond Star Signet Ring and Evil Eye Signet Ring replace the face entirely with a motif in natural diamonds. For the most personalised option, the initial signet ring sets a chosen letter across the face in diamonds — the Argent & Asher version of the engraved signet ring.
Neither is more or less right. It depends on whether you want the signet ring to read as understated or as a piece with more to look at. For a personalised gold jewellery gift, the initial style is the most significant choice.
9ct, 14ct or 18ct — Choosing Your Signet Ring Gold
Carat matters more for a signet ring than for many other jewellery formats. The face of the ring takes direct impact daily — against surfaces, desks, bags — so the hardness of the gold is a practical consideration, not just an aesthetic one.
9ct gold is the traditional UK signet ring specification: the hardest of the three, the most resistant to daily wear, and the most practical choice for a ring worn every day. A 9ct gold signet ring holds its surface better over time. 18ct gives a richer, deeper gold colour — warmer in yellow gold, crisper in white — but it's softer and better suited to a ring worn occasionally rather than constantly. An 18ct gold signet ring is the right choice when colour is the priority and wear frequency is lower.
14ct sits between the two: close to 18ct in colour, closer to 9ct in durability. It's a good compromise for a solid gold signet ring worn regularly but not every day. All three carats are available across most styles in the gold signet rings collection — chosen at checkout alongside yellow, white or rose gold.
Signet Rings — Your Questions Answered
Everything you need to know before you choose.
What signet rings does Argent & Asher offer? +
The signet ring collection at Argent & Asher covers nine styles across two categories: plain gold and diamond-set or initial. The plain gold signet rings are the Classic Signet Ring (large oval face), the Oval Signet Ring (petite oval face), the Ladies Gold Signet Ring (pear-shaped face) and the Gold Rope Signet Ring (oval face with rope-textured band). The diamond and personalised styles are the Classic Diamond Initial Signet Ring (chosen initial in natural diamonds), the Diamond Baguette Signet Ring, the Diamond Oval Signet Ring, the Classic Diamond Star Signet Ring and the Evil Eye Signet Ring. All are made in solid 9ct, 14ct or 18ct gold in yellow, white or rose gold — not plated — in our London atelier.
What finger do you wear a signet ring on? +
The traditional convention for a signet ring is the little (pinky) finger of the non-dominant hand — historically, the ring hand used to seal wax impressions. Today there are no strict rules. The pinky signet ring remains the most classic look; wearing a signet ring on the index or middle finger reads as more contemporary. Most people wear their signet ring on whichever finger it fits most comfortably and looks most proportionate — the decision is personal rather than conventional.
What is the difference between a plain gold signet ring and a diamond signet ring? +
A plain gold signet ring has a smooth, flat face of solid gold with no stones — the face can be left as a clean disc of gold, engraved with a monogram or initial, or worn exactly as it arrives. A diamond signet ring replaces the plain face with a stone-set design — a single baguette diamond, a ring of diamonds around the oval perimeter, or a full motif in natural diamonds such as a star or evil eye. Both formats use the same flat-face signet ring construction; the difference is what appears on the face. At Argent & Asher, all diamonds in the collection are natural — no synthetic stones are used.
Can you personalise or engrave a signet ring at Argent & Asher? +
The Classic Diamond Initial Signet Ring is the personalised signet ring in the collection — a chosen initial set in natural diamonds across the oval face, available in any letter, made to order in our London atelier. This is the Argent & Asher initial signet ring: the same solid gold construction as the classic styles, the face replaced by a single letter in diamonds. For a plain gold signet ring with signet ring engraving on the face or inner band, the Classic Signet Ring and Oval Signet Ring can accommodate this on request — contact the atelier directly to discuss requirements before ordering.
What carat gold is best for a signet ring? +
9ct gold is the traditional UK choice for a signet ring and the most practical option for daily wear. The face of a signet ring takes more direct impact against surfaces than most ring styles, and 9ct is harder and more resistant to surface wear than higher carats. A 9ct gold signet ring holds its face and edge definition better over time. An 18ct gold signet ring gives a richer, deeper gold colour but is softer — better suited to occasional wear than constant. 14ct sits between the two in both colour and durability. Most styles in the collection are available in all three carats, chosen at checkout alongside yellow, white or rose gold.
How long does a signet ring take to make? +
Lead times vary by style and are confirmed on each product page. Most signet rings at Argent & Asher are made to order within a few weeks. The Classic Diamond Initial Signet Ring, which involves individual letter-setting in natural diamonds, may carry a slightly longer lead time — check the product page for the current estimate. Every piece is made individually in our London atelier once the order is placed — not pulled from stock, not adjusted from a generic piece.
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