Did R.W. Wingate Ltd make gold jewellery?

R.W. Wingate Ltd did make gold jewellery, showing with one example, a documented 18-carat yellow-gold signet ring hallmarked in Birmingham in 1973. The ring provides strong evidence that the firm’s output was not limited to sterling silver pieces. The inside of the ring carries the RWW mark, a crown, the 18-carat indication, the Birmingham anchor and the date letter Y for 1973.

The recorded ring has a square front with a blank central cartouche intended for personal engraving. Chased scrolling leaf decoration surrounds the front and continues over the faceted shoulders. Dealer measurements give a decorated width of about 1.7 centimetres, a cartouche length of 9.1 millimetres, a shank width of 4.33 millimetres and a total weight of 13.76 grams. The listed UK ring size is R.

This single well-published example should not be stretched into a claim that gold formed most of Wingate’s production. As most of the online records reveal far more silver pieces, particularly from the late 1970s and 1980s. Still, this 1973 ring proves that R.W. Wingate Ltd worked in high-carat gold and supplied substantial men’s signet jewellery carrying a full Birmingham hallmark.