Signets and wide textured gold bands have been showing up on a lot more men's hands lately. A ring like that gets noticed from accross a room, so where you wear it and how it fits matter more than with a thin band. (Class ring guys, this applies to you too, more or less.) Not everyone's a fan. Looking back at the 70s, one commenter on Reddit called them "look at me" rings, which is fair, and also sort of the point. They aren't only for men either: a woman in her mid-thirties who wears her grandfather's nugget ring wrote that she gets "compliments on it all the time."

Which finger?

In the US a ring on the ring finger gets read as a wedding ring, which some men would rather avoid. That rule depends on where you are, though. In Germany, Norway or Russia the wedding ring traditionally goes on the right hand, so a heavy ring on your left ring finger means something different there. The middle finger is the usual alternative. It's the longest finger, so a wide ring doesn't look oversized there.

The little finger is where signets traditionally go. In Britain they've been worn on the little finger of the non-dominant hand for generations, originally so the seal could be pressed into wax. Nugget pinky rings were also common in the US in the 70s and 80s. Pinky sizes are smaller than people guess, often two or three sizes below the ring finger. It's probably the most common complaint about inherited rings; as one Reddit user put it, "too snug for my ring finger and loose on my pinky."

A big ring on the index finger gets in the way when writing or using a phone.

Getting the size right (it's probably not your usual size)

A wide band in your usual size will feel tight, so above about 6 mm jewelers usually suggest a quarter to half a size up. Fingers swell in heat and later in the day, so an evening measurement is more reliable.

The ring should slide over the knuckle with some resistance and not spin. A loose heavy ring ends up with the face turned toward the palm, which is annoying with a signet. If you're between sizes, a jeweler can add small sizing beads inside the band, which stop it spinning without a full resize. Clear plastic ring guards do the same job for very little money, though they show more.

A ring that feels oddly light for its size may be hollow underneath. Those dent more easily.

What it goes with

Denim, flannel, a waxed jacket, workwear, Western stuff. That's where a rough gold ring looks most at home.

With a suit, keep the rest plain. A simple watch on a leather strap is the easiest match. The old rule about never mixing gold and silver tones is mostly gone, so a steel watch with a gold ring is fine. Lots of shiny stuff at once fights with the rough surface.

Browns and olives make yellow gold look warmer. On mostly black and grey clothes it stands out a lot more, which is what your after if the ring is meant to be the main piece.

If you're buying online

Most listings only show the top of the ring, which tells you very little. Ask for the weight in grams if it isn't listed, and look for a photo of the underside. A ring around 30 grams, like several of the men's gold nugget rings at I Want My Nugget, feels nothing like a 5 gram signet on the hand, even when the photos look alike.

And size it properly from the start. On a thread about an inherited nugget ring, the top reply was simply "Definitely get it sized if you want to wear it frequently," and another commenter added "I think anyone can rock a pinky ring." Heavy rings are harder to resize later, so check the return policy too.

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