The pinkie ring has had a long, aristocratic history. Embraced by many, especially the ancient Egyptians, the rings quickly became accepted as visual status symbols.
By the 19th century, the most popular style in Europe was the signet, which traditionally highlighted a family coat of arms and represented power, prestige and wealth — King Charles III, for example, has worn one since 1969.
Though pinkie rings were once reserved for men, today, women have become big buyers. (Yes, Kim Kardashian and Rihanna, we have recently seen your pinkies shine.) And what once had been an important visual on that often-overlooked final finger has turned into another opportunity to display a personal style.
“The pinkie ring has always been a male-dominated idea, an expression of heritage and lineage,” said Jessie Thomas, a goldsmith and fine jewelry designer in Britain. “But women are taking it back.”
The Pinkie Space
Ms. Thomas, now 37, began her career working with her father, David Thomas of Thomas Goldsmiths. Since going solo in 2018, she has primarily worked with 18-karat yellow gold and diamonds to create rings that are “tiny, weighty, sculptural pieces that feel slightly organic,” she said, adding that “it’s become quite cool and fashionable to have something on your little finger. It’s a movement towards caring less about gender definitions and more about self-expression.”
Her designs, such as a textured gold ring with a freshwater pearl costing 7,000 pounds (about $9,500), are all custom made, requiring two to three weeks for delivery.
While some designers are playing with form, others are expanding the options in the pinkie space.
“The middle finger ring has left the party,” said Amy Segal, 60, a jewelry designer in New York who also acquires vintage pieces from brands like Bulgari, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpel for clients. “I can’t keep the Bulgari ones in stock,” she said of pinkie bling, likening the fifth finger to an exclamation point.
“Pinkie rings are now customized and personalized conversation starters which often resonate emotionally or connectively for the person wearing it,” she said. “If the ring is oversized or too big, we make them smaller so that it fits clients’ pinkies, even if it’s not meant to be worn on that finger,” she added, citing the Panthère de Cartier ring as an example of a requested look.
Michelle Demaree, the owner of Miss Diamond Ring, a company in Los Angeles that specializes in bespoke and customized diamond rings and fine jewelry, said that the pinkie had been neglected “and not celebrated like other fingers have been.”
Ms. Demaree, 44, worked at Harry Winston and Tiffany & Company before starting her business in 2015.
She noted that the desire to adorn one’s finger was about the self — self-love and self-empowerment. “The diamond is a symbol of power; the pinkie often represents vulnerably and femininity,” she said. “Combining those elements together is another reason for the increasing popularity, while enjoying something beautiful to look at on your hand.”
Ms. Demaree said her most requested design was a substantial gold dome with a one-carat diamond, which ranged from $2,000 to $5,000. Many, she added, were being purchased by women for their own adornment and enjoyment: “Women are feeling more confident. They have more spending power.”
Something Meaningful
Sentimental attachment and personal connection have become all the more important during the kind of trying times we are experiencing now, Ms. Segal noted.
“For the signet ring, that means an astrological motif, a family crest or a child’s initial,” she said. “For others, it’s taking a diamond engagement ring you no longer wear and reclaiming it with a chunky pinkie statement ring or a stone that belonged to a family member.”
Cece Fein Hughes, an art historian turned goldsmith in London, agreed that “people are craving personal identity paired with meaning, symbolism and story.” The rings she creates, she said, “represent a piece of luxury, rather than wealth and aristocracy.”
Ms. Hughes, 30, who established Cece Jewellery in 2021, said she paid tribute to the traditional signet by elevating the designs on her rings into pieces of mini art. Inspired by mythology, folklore and fairy tales, she creates symbols, motifs and small enamel paintings, often punctuated by diamonds, on the flat surfaces of her 18-karat gold rings, which range from $10,000 to $20,000.
Signets have long been part of the offerings at David Yurman, a global jewelry brand in New York.
David and Sybil Yurman, the husband-and-wife jewelry designers who founded the company in 1980, have been making pinkie rings since 2012.
Mr. Yurman, 82, credited their son, Evan, for spearheading what he called a hugely successful part of their business. “He took inspiration from a traditional, classically shaped cigar band and artistically created a micromosaic design using different-sized pavé stones, specifically placed throughout the ring, which almost hug the band,” Mr. Yurman said. “We took an iconic item that had a strong history and glorified it. Then we had a lot of fun with it.”
They have created more than 280 designs and variations over the years, including the Bubblegum Pinky Collection, a limited-edition series released in 2015 with different scents including, yes, bubble gum. And Mr. Yurman has used reverse settings, in which the culet, or bottom point, of a faceted gemstone became a spiky accent rising from the ring’s surface.
Currently, the brand offers 32 pinkie styles, including a traditional signet with a single engraved initial, a sculpted circular cable ring in yellow and white gold and statement pieces pavéd in colored diamonds. Prices range from $250 to $8,000.
As women continue to desire jewelry that expresses themselves, designers have responded by tossing tradition, morphing pinkie rings from modest gold signets to styles that are large and vibrant, decorative and detailed.
“It’s become quite urban, decadent and cool to wear something chunky on your smallest finger,” Ms. Hughes said. “We’re going through a moment in jewelry where people are gravitating towards the maximalist look. The more the better.”
The post Pinkie Rings Go Big appeared first on New York Times.
