Big Onyx Man Ring: Secret Meaning? Where to get one?

It's just a classic ring style for men.

That's right, you got a best answer for that. Way to take a hit for the team!

The price of gold is through the roof right now. Pawn shops and stores selling estate jewelry are your best bet by far.

Wow, Jamaro, I'm sorry you had to hear that. :) Thanks for asking your dad for me. Flakypastry: Yeah, 10k is ok with me, and I'll just have to keep my eyes open for the next little while. A cz also won't kill me. There are pawn shops nearby, and I stop in every once in a while to see what they've got. desuetude: At this point, looks like you're right. It's probably just a fashion thing that lots of men of a certain age have.

3. The third picture above is Gordon B. Hinckley, the President of the LDS church. His wearing the ring, along with two other priestly LDS dudes, is what makes me suspect the ring as statement of affiliation. But again, could just be a manly fashion statement It's not religion that's the affiliation between these dudes wearing the ring, it's age and culture (i.e. what is considered acceptable jewelry for a man.)

Also, I guess I could spend more like $100. Does that change the outlook? Not really, unfortunately. At $100, you're still restricted to silver and CZ, although you might be able to find a 10k gold version with CZ. That ring on ebay is gold plated. If you plan to wear the ring often, then gold plating will not stand up very well. Silver rings don't wear well, either. 10k gold tarnishes badly over time. If it were me, I'd either haunt ebay for awhile to see what you can find, or head to your local pawn shop and see if they have one. Also, many jewelry stores carry "estate goods" and may be willing to sell you a ring like that for $100-$150. Don't be afraid to haggle. Jewelers take in estate goods for peanuts all of the time. Also, if it's a plated piece from the 20s or 30s, then that's much better than plated pieces today - the electroplating was much thicker in that era. In fact, I own vintage plated watches from that time that still look as good as new. I did a zoom of the third picture to see if I could get a better look at that ring. The center stone appears to be a stock inlay gold mounting - no special characteristics that I can see. If all of his colleagues have the ring too, then it's possible that there's a custom engraving on the sides of the rings that they wear that has some special meaning. Do you have any other pictures to give a clue?

So I spoke with my dad this morning; his ring was given to him in 1943 by a girl who was sweet on him. My dad was 21 at the time, in town for a few days before being shipped out to the B-29 crews stationed on Saipan. He said it has no other association that he's aware of. I asked him if that kind of ring was a popular style in the '40s and he said "Hell, I don't know, I was too busy chasing girls." Would have posted this sooner had not my asking about the ring triggered a long reminiscence of his youthful days as a ladies' man (oy, the details one would prefer *not* to know about one's dad).

Ok, a couple of things: 1: I'm aware that the ring in the first photo is Masonic. That's why the question states that the rings I've seen have no Masonic insignia like this one does. No G, compass, or square. 2. Looks like the answers are skewing toward fashion statement. That's totally cool, and it's what the logic part of my brain has been saying. The kooky side still wants it to be a http://www.google.com/search?q=high+priest+onyx&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a. Because that would be cool. 3. The third picture above is Gordon B. Hinckley, the President of the LDS church. http://www.ksl.com/emedia/slc/1/106/10692.jpg, along with two other priestly LDS dudes, is what makes me suspect the ring as statement of affiliation. But again, could just be a manly fashion statement. 4. Thanks, FlakyPastry, for the Ebay link. I thought I had turned Ebay upside-down, but you found it and I didn't. Also, I guess I could spend more like $100. Does that change the outlook? 5. The citations above of Roman Catholics, and especially Rosicrucians, really piques my interest. But it could just be so much more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronicity. Thanks for all the answers! If someone has a lead on a really good deal on one of these, I'm interested. And parmanparman, I'm still waiting on you...some kind of reference that the ring has some kind of tie with the Melchizedek priesthood would really interest me.

My grandfather had one of these, as did my uncle. They were both Roman Catholic. Although my grandfather was also (?) a Rosicrucian.