Hello.
I’m Mr. Linen.
If you enjoy classic menswear, I think the signet ring is something almost everyone becomes interested in at some point.
As I introduced in the article below, I had always admired signet rings, so I eventually bought one for myself.
However, after buying it, I realized that I simply didn’t have enough presence or gravitas to pull it off. So, for now, I’m keeping it safely stored away until I reach an age when I can hopefully wear it more naturally.
Putting that aside, there is one issue that sometimes comes up when you want to wear a signet ring: how it works with a wedding ring.
In other words, is it perfectly acceptable to wear both a signet ring and a wedding ring, or is it better to choose one or the other?
Of course, there are no rules saying that an ordinary person who is not an aristocrat cannot wear a signet ring, and you should ultimately wear whatever you like. Still, if you’ll allow me, I’d like to offer my personal opinion on the matter.
The Best Option: A Single Signet Ring on the Left Pinky
In my opinion, the best way to wear a signet ring is to put it on the left pinky and wear absolutely nothing on the other fingers.
I have heard a story along the following lines:
“A gentleman in the traditional British sense was not supposed to dress in an excessively ostentatious way. Everything should be restrained and understated. Historically, jewelry and excessive ornamentation were not considered appropriate for men, while a wedding ring could even be regarded simply as an accessory. A signet ring, however, was different because it traditionally carried a family crest or personal seal and could serve as a symbol of one’s identity and family heritage.”
I don’t know how historically accurate that story is.
However, when you actually see King Charles III wearing a signet ring without a wedding ring, it does seem to fit with a traditional British approach in which the signet ring has a particularly important place.
There is absolutely no reason for someone who is not a member of the British royal family to imitate this practice. And when it comes to a Japanese man doing the same thing in Japan, you could certainly question whether it would actually look stylish. Nevertheless, if we are talking purely about pursuing the most traditional interpretation, I would choose a single signet ring on the left pinky.
Wedding Ring × Signet Ring
For a modern Japanese man who is married, the conventional choice is to wear a wedding ring on the left ring finger.
If you then add a signet ring, this is what it looks like.
It may look different depending on the wearer’s overall appearance, skin tone, personal taste, and the design of the rings. But at least in this particular photo, I think it looks somewhat strange.
To my eyes, there is simply too much shine and too much ornamentation going on at once.
So I came up with another idea: put the signet ring on the right pinky and distribute the rings between the two hands.
There is still a certain amount of visual flashiness, but I think it looks considerably better.
Even so, I find myself wanting to wear the signet ring on the left pinky rather than the right.
In Europe, there are countries and individuals where wearing a wedding ring on the right ring finger is perfectly normal. However, if you absolutely want to keep the signet ring on the left pinky, wearing the wedding ring on the right ring finger could theoretically be another option.
But if a Japanese man did that in Japan, there is a possibility that people might simply think he was being rather eccentric.
And, more importantly, your wife might not be particularly happy about it.
To summarize this section, I think it is difficult to make a wedding ring and a signet ring coexist harmoniously. If you really want to wear a signet ring, I would personally give up the wedding ring.
If you absolutely want to wear both, and removing the wedding ring from your left ring finger is not an option, I think putting the signet ring on the right pinky is the better compromise.
Ring Color and Design
The most common materials for wedding rings are yellow gold, white gold, and platinum. In terms of color, that basically means gold or silver.
Signet rings are also available in silver-colored metals and two-tone or mixed-metal designs, but the classic version is traditionally made in yellow gold.
If the wedding ring is gold, the signet ring is also gold, and both have understated, traditional designs that look as though they could have existed for decades, I personally found the combination difficult to pull off.
However, I think the combination looks excellent when, like Shuhei Nishiguchi of BEAMS, you have a two-tone signet ring paired with a wedding ring that appears to have a little more design character, perhaps with some engraved detailing.
I think this also has a lot to do with Mr. Nishiguchi’s age, the way he dresses, his skin tone, and many other factors.
Compared with rings that are extremely traditional, like the ones in my case, I suspect that two rings with a certain degree of design character—that is, a more modern feel—are easier to wear together.
Perhaps the reason is that when you introduce a modern element, the combination of a wedding ring and a signet ring, which might otherwise feel like a clash of traditions, becomes more clearly a deliberate fashion choice.
Conclusion
I think it is better not to combine a signet ring and a wedding ring if possible.
The ideal, in my opinion, is a single signet ring on the left pinky, with nothing worn on the right hand.
If wearing a wedding ring on the left ring finger is non-negotiable, and you still want to wear a signet ring, you could put the signet ring on the right pinky. Alternatively, if you insist on wearing it on the left pinky, choosing a more modern signet ring and/or wedding ring with some design character can make it clear that the combination is being worn as a fashion choice, making the overall look easier to balance.
That is the conclusion I have come to.
As for me, I can’t afford to buy a new, more modern signet ring, and I specifically want a classic, all-yellow-gold signet ring. So I’m going to give up on wearing it on my left pinky for now.
Perhaps in about 30 years, when my wife and I have become an old married couple who can laugh about these things and she no longer gets angry if I take off my wedding ring, I’ll finally start wearing my signet ring. Then I can enjoy it for the remaining decades of my life.
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