A sovereign ring is a ring which typically has a gold sovereign as a primary decorative feature, with the obverse face as the visible detail. The coin may be either genuine or replica tender, and may be either a sovereign or half sovereign. In the United Kingdom it is also common to use custom coinage bearing such motifs as the 'Three Lions' or other similar imagery such as Saint George, or a Welsh Dragon.
Sovereign rings are associated with chav culture in the UK,[1][2][3] or more broadly with emulating the look of a mafioso.[4]
Celebrities who have been observed wearing a sovereign ring include Brad Pitt,[4] Ghislaine Maxwell[5] and the English rapper Louise Amanda Harman, hence her stage name of "Lady Sovereign".[2][6]
References
- ^ Maxine Frith, "High fashion's debt to the lowly Chavs", The Independent, 1 February 2004.
- ^ a b Aileen Dillane and Martin J. Power, "Hard Hats and Hoodies: The Songs of Two Working-Class British Protest Singers", in: The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music and Social Class, ed. Ian Peddie, New York / London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020, ISBN 9781501345364, p. 282.
- ^ "Setting the Scene: Overview", in: The Oxford Handbook of the Psychology of Appearance, ed. Nichola Rumsey and Diana Harcourt, Oxford: Oxford University, 2012, ISBN 9780199580521, p. 12.
- ^ a b Murray Clark, "Brad Pitt, Your New Don Corleone", Esquire, 17 September 2019.
- ^ Hope Coke, "Ghislaine Maxwell to make first court appearance remotely after transferring to Brooklyn detention centre", Tatler, 7 July 2020.
- ^ "Meet Lady Sovereign: A One-Woman Grime Wave", The Herald Scotland, 29 October 2005.