FOH Bling:History of the Cigar ring.

[El Presidente]

 

 

https://www.ft.com/content/5c29dca4-3638-4f5f-b366-ab9f1998eaa6

The cigar ring we know today owes a debt to Catherine the Great who, it is said, had her smokes silk-wrapped to avoid staining her fingers; to 19th-century English aristocrats whose white gloves suffered the same affliction; and to the German emigrant Gustav Bock, a Cuban-cigar maker whose elaborate, colourful, paper-ring labels authenticated his superior product in a sea of knock-offs. Worn by Victorian men and women, and later revived by the leading jewellery maisons – notably Cartier in the 1970s – it evolved to encapsulate a variety of wide bands, and has moved once and for all out of the fumoir and into fashion.

Where does it fit into the ring repertoire, though? Unlike the cocktail ring, the cigar ring tends to have a smooth, flat-ish profile, so it’s versatile enough to wear from daytime right through into the small hours. And while there is still room for signet rings, this wider band, usually worn on the ring or middle finger, is less about symbolism, more about personality.