Viking Rings & Bracelets

Rings as money, rank and promise

Norse jewellery was not decoration bolted onto a functioning economy. It was the economy. Silver arrived in Scandinavia in enormous quantities through trade and tribute, and the practical way to hold it was to wear it. An arm ring of twisted rod was portable, visible, and instantly valued by weight.

That is what hacksilver is. When a payment had to be made and no coin was to hand, the ring was cut and a piece weighed out on a folding balance. Hoards across Scandinavia, Ireland and the north of England contain exactly that: cut ring fragments, snipped ingots and bent wire, sorted by weight rather than by shape. Some rings show test nicks along the edge where someone checked that the silver went all the way through.

Rings also carried obligation. A lord who handed out arm rings was buying loyalty in a way everyone present could see, which is why the poetry calls a king a ring giver and a breaker of rings. And the sagas describe oaths sworn on a ring kept at a temple, which is where the modern idea of a ring as a binding promise ultimately comes from. Handing someone a ring has meant something for a very long time.

What all that means is that the shapes on this page are old shapes. The rope twist, the flared spiral terminal, the flat band with a cut inscription. They look right because people have been making them for a thousand years.

The rings in this collection

Seven pieces. Four are finger rings, one is a set of six, and two are open arm rings.

Rune bands

Two plain profile bands, both solid silver tone, brushed and polished, both with an Elder Futhark line cut into the band. They differ in width and that changes everything about how they wear.

The 6 mm ring has polished bevels top and bottom with the rune line cut into a brushed centre panel, and a rounded comfort fit interior that clears the knuckle easily. US 6 through 14 including half sizes. Six millimetres is a width most people wear all day without noticing it.

The 9 mm ring is a far bigger presence. The face carries stepped polished shoulders, two twisted rope cables worked into the band rather than soldered on, and the rune line cut into a recessed brushed centre register. US 7 to 15 with half sizes and a comfort fit interior, and the listing tells you to order half a size up. That is not a throwaway line. A 9 mm band traps more skin and needs the extra room.

Knotwork and symbol rings

The Celtic plait ring is a solid band of approximately 8 mm with a flat profile and a raised rail on each edge. The outside carries a continuous four strand Celtic plait, cut and shaded by hand, and an Elder Futhark rune line is cut inside the shank where only the wearer sees it. US sizes 6 to 14 in whole and half sizes, and the listing is clear that it cannot be resized later. A linen pouch and a sizing card come with it.

The Mjolnir ring is hand polished steel with a bright silver tone, in a wide flat profile of approximately 8 mm with stepped polished edges. The Elder Futhark row is cut in relief so the characters stand proud of the band rather than sitting in it, and an applied Mjolnir hammer sits at the front. This one is made to the ring size you give in the order notes rather than picked from a standard range.

The six piece set is the outlier and the easiest thing here to buy for someone else. Six rings in a warm bronze tone jewellery alloy, three flat bands stamped and relieved with the Valknut and three hand twisted wire ropes. Every ring is open ended and adjusts by hand across a range of finger sizes, so there is no sizing decision to get wrong. Stack them on one hand or split the set across both.

Arm rings and open cuffs

Two open backed pieces, both adjustable, neither with a clasp. A clasp is the part of a bracelet that fails, and an open cuff has none.

The rope coil arm ring is solid formed metal with a bright polished silver finish, a deep rope twist through the body and smooth rounded terminals. Open backed and adjustable, it sits as a cuff at the wrist or higher on the forearm depending on how you set it. A cloth pouch and a polishing cloth come with it.

The spiral terminal arm ring has an inner opening of approximately 2.5 inches with a band of approximately 6 mm across, in a bright polished silver finish alloy. The band is a genuine twisted rope rather than a cast imitation of one, and the ends flare into raised spiral bosses with domed caps. Elder Futhark runes are stamped into the flats behind the terminals, and the recesses are darkened so the spirals and the runes read clearly against the polish.

Widths, sizes and finishes

Every figure below comes from a listing on this page. These are made and finished by hand, so widths are nominal and small variation is normal.

Band width is the number that decides whether you keep wearing a ring. Six millimetres disappears on the hand. Nine millimetres is a statement and it needs the half size up the listing asks for. Eight sits between the two and is the usual choice for a wedding band that is meant to be noticed.

Getting the size right

Ring sizing goes wrong for boring physical reasons. Fingers swell in heat and after exercise and shrink in cold, and the difference across a day can be a whole size. Measure warm, late in the day, and never straight after a cold morning outside.

Measure the finger you will actually wear it on. Dominant hands usually run a quarter to half a size larger than the other side. And measure over the knuckle, not just the base of the finger, because the ring has to pass the knuckle to get on and the joint is often the widest point.

Comfort fit interiors, which are on the two plain bands here, are domed on the inside so the ring rolls over the knuckle more easily and sits on less skin. That changes the fit. A comfort fit ring in your usual size will feel slightly loose, so a lot of people go half a size down. A wide comfort fit band is the exception, and the 9 mm listing asks you to go half a size up because width has the opposite effect.

Two pieces here sidestep sizing entirely. The six ring set is open ended and adjusts by hand, and both arm rings are open backed. If you are buying a gift and you do not know the size, those are the safe choices. One ring is made to the size you supply in the order notes, and the Celtic plait ring cannot be resized after it is made, so get those two right first time.

Materials, described honestly

Read the material lines on these listings and you will notice they all say what the piece is not. Not sterling silver. Not solid precious metal. Not hallmarked.

That is deliberate. These are hand polished steel and silver or bronze tone jewellery alloys, sold on their finish and their work rather than on bullion content. A polished steel band holds a bright finish extremely well and is considerably harder than silver, which means it resists the scratches that a soft precious metal picks up in a week. A bronze tone alloy gives the warm colour of aged bronze without the green fingers that raw copper alloys can produce.

If you want a hallmarked precious metal ring, these are not that, and no listing pretends otherwise. If you want a ring with the right shapes, the right symbols and a finish that survives being worn, they do the job at a fraction of the price.

Elder Futhark on a ring

Six of these carry Elder Futhark somewhere. Cut in relief on the Mjolnir ring, into a brushed panel on the 6 mm band, into a recessed register on the 9 mm band, inside the shank on the plait ring, and stamped behind the terminals on the spiral arm ring.

Elder Futhark is an alphabet, not a cipher. Each rune stands for a sound rather than a letter, so a modern name is transliterated by ear and not swapped letter for letter. There is no rune for C, so a hard C uses kaunan and a soft C uses sowilo. There is no rune for Q, V or the modern W as a separate character. Names ending in a silent letter usually lose it. Our Elder Futhark guide works through the transliteration properly, and the runestones guide shows how the alphabet was actually used.

The other symbols here are worth reading before you commit to one. The Valknut on the six ring set is three interlocked triangles associated with Odin, found on Gotland picture stones and on the Oseberg ship burial. Mjolnir needs no introduction. Our notes on what the Norse symbols actually mean cover the rest, including the ones that are much more modern than people assume.

Care and wear

These finishes are durable but they are not indestructible. Take rings off before the gym, before lifting anything heavy and before any job with a chemical in it. Chlorine, bleach and drain cleaner all attack plated and polished finishes, and a swimming pool will dull a bright polish faster than a year of ordinary wear.

Clean with warm water, a drop of mild soap and a soft cloth. Dry it properly, especially in the cut lines of an engraving where water sits. A jeweller's cloth brings back a bright polish without abrasive paste.

Do not use abrasive polish or a rotary buff on a piece with darkened recesses. The darkening in the spirals and rune stamps is what makes the detail readable, and a few seconds of aggressive polishing removes it permanently and leaves a flat grey shape.

Open cuffs adjust, but adjust them rarely. Metal work hardens each time you flex it, so opening and closing an arm ring every day eventually cracks it at the bend. Set it once to fit and leave it.

Engraving

Several pieces already carry cut or stamped work as part of the making, and further personalisation is done in the United States after the piece arrives. Text engraving is 19 dollars, symbol engraving is 39 dollars and a family crest is 49 dollars.

On a ring the inside of the shank is the usual place for a name or a date, and it is the only surface that does not compete with the outside pattern. On an arm ring the flat behind a terminal takes a short line.

Engraving is permanent and an engraved piece cannot be returned or resized afterwards. Send the exact spelling and the exact date format, and read them twice before you order.

Where these come from and how they ship

Ransack Viking is a US company based in Memphis, Tennessee. The pieces are handmade in the Czech Republic, then imported, inspected and shipped from Memphis. Engraving is done in the US after arrival.

Because each piece is finished by hand, the depth of a cut plait and the darkening in a recess vary slightly between two rings of the same model. Rings arrive in a pouch, which is enough for a gift as it stands.

How to choose

If this is a wedding or a handfasting band that will be worn every day, take the 6 mm rune band. It is the width people keep on, and the comfort fit interior is the reason.

If you want the ring to be seen, take the 9 mm with the twisted rope borders or the Celtic plait ring. Both carry a lot of worked detail, and both need you to be right about the size first time.

If the recipient's size is a mystery, take the six piece set or one of the arm rings. All of them adjust by hand and none of them needs a measurement.

If the symbol matters more than the band, the Mjolnir ring puts the hammer at the front and cuts the runes in relief, which is the most three dimensional piece on this page.

Browse related categories

• All Norse jewellery
• Arm rings and torcs
• Mjolnir pendants
• Norse pendants and stave jewellery
• Beard rings and beads
• Wedding and groomsmen gifts
• Everything that can be engraved

Guides worth reading first

• Elder Futhark runes and how names transliterate
• The Valknut and what it meant
• Mjolnir and what the hammer meant
• Viking symbols and what they actually mean
• Viking wedding gift ideas
• Runestones explained