Signet ring usage

laissez-faire · 9 Sep 2006 at 19:48

Does anyone here still use their signet rings (original ones with the family crest - not some bling thing with initials or some naff replica) to seal letters? I can't even find sealing wax apart from in London! Why has the tradition faded?

EDIT > I think a more interesting area of debate that has arisen here is that some people don't send letters at all! I find this rather strange, I love getting mail!

laissez-faire · 9 Sep 2006 at 19:52

Mohinder said:
Because people can't get the wax off their monitors after sealing e-mails.

Plus there's always the small issue of the fact that envelopes already have glue on them now?

So? you still seal it to prove that it hasn't been steamed open. So to open the letter you have to use a letter knife (or tear the whole thing apart). I still think it is a nice touch for personal letters.

Also if you have some of the old old style bits of paper, you can seal them together without an envelope.

laissez-faire · 9 Sep 2006 at 19:55

Jumpingmedic said:
Because no-ones written a letter since 1990

Are you serious? I write letters most days. Wouldn't it be rather naff to send a thank-you email to someone who had entertained you for the evening or even weekend? Or how about invitations - surely you don't do those electronically? Letters of condolence - how could you email that?

laissez-faire · 9 Sep 2006 at 20:26

cleanbluesky said:
A signet ring is not subtle, it is pretentious as it is surplus to requirements - therefore it would not be appropriate for letters of condolence

Oh I agree, you wouldn't seal a letter of condolence. But you would perhaps seal a legal letter, or an invitiation card to a family gathering. Or perhaps if showing off to certain females!

Believe me, if you take a handwritten letter, sealed, to a florist and have them deliver it with a big bunch of flowers to a girl it makes quite a 'positive impression'! It can really 'seal' the deal after a first date!

My father is the Seventh Baronet of Gallen but frankly I don't see how that is relevant, it is just good manners and my untitled schoolfriends do the same.

laissez-faire · 9 Sep 2006 at 20:47

cleanbluesky said:
nm

No my father was born in 1940, my brother was born in 1973 and I had no idea that we were on wikipedia - that is cool, I have to go and tell him! Only website I had seen was www.thepeerage.com ... Obv all the books (who's who, people of today etc) have references... it amazes someone cared enough to actually type that information from a book into wikipedia!