Does wearing a signet ring mean you're posh

[pumpkinnut]

So I've got feelings for one of my colleagues and I was speaking to my friend and mentioned how he wears a signet ring. Friend said I bet he's posh. It this true? I admit I don't really know anyone else in my life who wears one but I just wonder whether it's common to wear one. By the way there's nothing wrong with being posh, I'm not bothered if they are or they are not.

It's one of those things that either mean you're from a distinguished family, OR are trashy. Nothing in between. Like men with ponytails, they're either really rich or really greasy.

Source: dp has one - I'll leave it up to you to imagine which one he is.

Opposite of posh in my book.

I don’t think it really signifies anything. My grandad wore a signet ring and he was just middle class.

I went to boarding school and most of my male friends got signet rings with their family crest on for their 21st birthdays, and wear them on their little finger. So yes, in my experience it’s usually a posh thing.

Signet rings were handed down via the male line / eldest and as many have already said, bear the family's crest or coat of arms. They are worn on the little finger. They are engraved so they could be use to make an impression on a wax seal - for a formal document or letter.

PS no-one who has one would, in all consciousness, ever use the word 'posh' as it's an extremely non-U term.

What you think a signet ring signifies is probably quite a good measure of how posh you are going by this, and former, threads

@OneTC completely agree!

I don't wear one but my dad does with our family crest on it. We have loads of heritage stuff like this knocking around. Bit old school but still a 'thing'.

A total NO.Macho man with no taste, posh or not posh!

Is his name is Rupert or Hugo? Does he wear red trousers? Does he own a Labrador? Did he attend a public school (ideally Harrow/Eton, but Westminster will do, at a push)? Do his 'people' own a significant chunk of the countryside?

If so, then yes, posh.

Depends if it's the family crest that used to seal wax letter or and ED special.

Wtf is it with all this 'posh' buisness on MN recently

@rainbowmash

It's one of those things that either mean you're from a distinguished family, OR are trashy. Nothing in between. Like men with ponytails, they're either really rich or really greasy.

Source: dp has one - I'll leave it up to you to imagine which one he is.

My Dad had one instead of a wedding ring. He was neither trashy or posh.

The only man I know who wears one is a Freemason and that's what it symbolises

@ladyjaye just accurately described all the men I know who wear one.

Haha I think she's joking as it's the opposite of posh

Well if she is joking she is spot on, one is even called Rupert!

All these people insisting that a signet ring is absolutely chavvy and not at all posh ever clearly haven't ever seen a picture of Prince Charles (or any of the other Royal men of his generation or older).

It can be chavvy but can also be very posh. It probably isn't upper working class or middle class though.

Depends upon the ring itself.

Signet ring on pinky is the sign of a posho yes. I think some posters are confusing them with sovereign rings, which were the opposite on posh.

Very chavvy where I live.

When I was young it was said it meant they were gay. No idea if that's true, probably not I'd guess, but perhaps your friend heard the same and that's why she mentioned it?

That's what it meant when/where I grew up too. I'm now wondering whether there was a load of straight posh/not posh men who were always confused as to why they were being hit on by other men when they visited my town.

Exactly @JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon

This is the kind of ring I am talking about:

Argh!!! People are confusing sovereign rings (chavvy) with signet rings (posh). They are not the same thing!!!
As PPs have said, signet rings are worn by really posh, old money, country estate types. I think Prince Charles wears one? (Also the kind of posh men who wear signet rings often don't wear wedding rings)

We had this exact post not long ago!

I haven't heard "signet ring" since I was in primary school and a bunch of girls had them. They were definitely not posh.
Just because it's Elizabeth Duke doesn't make you royalty 🤷

As I said up thread my dad wears an actual, genuine signet ring instead of a wedding ring but is really not "posh". In our case it shows where wealth and country estates once were, but now sadly all that is left is the coat of arms and ring.