Published on by Olivier Maupas-Sehikyan · Signet rings
Some pieces of jewellery are content to decorate, while others speak for themselves. The one I want to tell you about today belongs firmly to the second family: a women's yellow gold signet ring in 18-carat gold, set at its centre with a blue topaz in a bezel setting. I made it entirely by hand in my workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, just south of Nantes, for a client who most definitely did not want a piece of feminine jewellery as one usually imagines it. This is how it came to life.
A client, a precise idea: the signet ring
It all began with a visit to the workshop. My client walked through the door with a very clear idea in mind: she wanted a signet ring, to wear every day. Not an engagement ring, not a discreet solitaire, not a classic piece. A signet ring, with all the graphic power of that form. I must admit that this clarity won me over immediately.
Her approach was a considered one. Long seen as a man's piece of jewellery, the bespoke signet ring for women has enjoyed a wonderful revival in recent years. My client loved its assertiveness, its character, the presence it has on the finger. In her eyes, it was not a showy ornament but a signature, a modern seal worn as a personal mark.
We talked at length. The classic engraved plate with initials did not appeal to her: she wanted something brighter, more intimate. The idea of a central stone then took hold, a gem that would become her distinguishing sign, something no initial could ever have achieved.
The stone itself remained to be found. As a gemstone dealer, I presented her with several gems that I select personally at source. Her eye settled on a blue topaz in a Sky Blue shade, oval cut, with a soft and luminous colour. That almost crystalline blue said exactly what she was looking for: a quiet strength, without any aggression.
I then took out my sketchbook and drew a few designs. The chosen model sets the oval topaz in a bezel setting on the upper plate, carried by a broad, understated band in 18-carat yellow gold. No superfluous decoration: the purity of the form and the softness of the stone were enough. The project was approved on the spot.
Blue topaz and yellow gold: a dialogue of light
Before moving to the bench, I like to take the time to explain what this jewel carries with it. The signet ring dates back to Antiquity, when it was used to press a personal seal into the wax of a document: a true signature of identity. In the Middle Ages, it became an emblem of nobility, engraved with coats of arms and handed down from generation to generation. Today, women are reclaiming it and seeing in it a symbol of self-assertion rather than a marker of gender.
Blue topaz belongs to the family of aluminium fluorosilicates (Al₂SiO₄(F,OH)₂). With a hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale, it is among the most resistant minerals in jewellery, which makes it a sound choice for a ring worn every day. It comes in three main shades: Sky Blue, a soft sky blue, Swiss Blue, more vivid, and London Blue, deep and dark. The Sky Blue chosen here evokes a summer sky, and its calm contrasts beautifully with the sunlit warmth of the yellow gold.
I like to be transparent on one point: the natural blue colour of topaz is rare. The vast majority of blue topaz sold today comes from colourless topaz whose tint has been brought out by irradiation followed by heating. This treatment is stable, lasting and universally accepted by gemmologists. I choose my stones for their crystalline clarity and the evenness of their colour, two criteria that make all the difference once the stone is set.
In terms of symbolism, blue topaz is the birthstone for November. It is associated with serenity, communication and emotional balance: values that suited my client's temperament well. As for 18-carat yellow gold, an alloy of 75% pure gold, copper and silver, it brings that timeless warmth that carries across the ages.
In the workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire: from molten gold to bezel setting
Now for the craft. Everything was made on site, by hand, in my workshop near Nantes. This is what gives a handmade yellow gold signet ring its personality: every stage leaves something of me in the metal.
The metal, the plate and the band
I began by melting the 18-carat yellow gold to obtain a clean ingot. The metal was brought to around 1,064 °C, its melting point, purified with borax and then cast. The ingot was then rolled into a sheet and drawn on the draw bench to provide the sections required.
The upper plate was cut with a piercing saw from a thick sheet, to the dimensions agreed with my client. I took particular care over the oval outline, as it is what gives the signet ring its feminine, contemporary look. The band was shaped separately from a thick gold wire, curved on the ring mandrel to fit her finger size exactly. I then soldered the plate onto the band with a flame, using a compatible 18-carat gold solder, and softened the join with a needle file so that the ring would be as comfortable as it is beautiful.
The bezel setting and the stone setting
Then came the most delicate stage. I rolled out a fine strip of gold, cut it, then curved it to the exact perimeter of the stone. This bezel setting wraps the gem in a continuous band of metal: it protects the corners of the topaz as much as possible and gives a clean, uncluttered look. I soldered it to the centre of the plate with millimetric precision, as the slightest misalignment would be immediately visible.
Then came the moment of setting. The Sky Blue topaz was gently placed in its seat, and the fine gold strip was pressed down over the girdle of the stone with my bezel pusher, applying gradual pressure. Despite its high hardness, topaz is vulnerable to knocks because of its cleavage: I therefore work this gesture with total concentration, almost holding my breath.
All that remained was to sand, file, then polish with felt and cotton. Little by little, the yellow gold regained its full radiance, and the topaz its soft blue glow.
The handover: when a jewel becomes a seal
On the day my client came back, I placed the signet ring in front of her without a word. She slipped it onto her finger, turned it in the light, and her confident smile said everything. She now wore her seal. It is for moments like these that I do this work: to see a piece of jewellery cease to be an object and become a part of someone.
If you too dream of a women's signet ring, of bespoke jewellery in Nantes or of something even more personal, come and visit my workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire. We will take the time to talk it through, over a sketchbook and a few stones, and imagine your next piece together.
