gems, glyptic, engraved gems, agate, cameo, intaglio, shell, ancient gems, Rome, Greece, ancient jewelry, rings

It has long been known that Charles I of England, some two years or a little more after his accession to the throne and his marriage to Henrietta Maria, a daughter of France, ordered that a diamond be engraved with his coat of arms as a signet, probably intending it for the private use of his Queen. Although this signet has since disappeared and passed into oblivion, the record of payment made to the artist for executing the work still survives, and until now it is from that document alone that our knowledge of it has been derived. From: The Archaeologia, Vol. 47,