From the early seventeenth to the end of the nineteenth century, testators left money in their wills to have rings with commemorative inscriptions made and distributed to their friends and families. Simple bands enamelled with the name and life dates of the deceased were frequently made, sometimes set with a gemstone or a bezel set with a rock crystal covering a symbol such as a coffin or initials in gold wire. In the later 18th century, rings followed neo-classical designs, their oval bezels often decorated with the same designs as funerary monuments such as urns, broken pillars and mourning figures. Hair from the deceased was incorporated into the designs or set in a compartment at the back of the ring to give each jewel a uniquely personal element. Black or white enamel were favoured though white enamel was often, though not universally used to commemorate children and unmarried adults.

The inscription on the back of the bezel tells us that the ring commemorates John Amey who died in 1791. Amey was the Master of the London and Greenwich packets, the ships which carried passengers and post up and down the river. His death was recorded in the 'New Lady's Magazine' of April 1791: 'At Berwick-upon-Tweed, in the 64th year of his age, Mr John Amey of Greenwich, many years Master of the London and Berwick packets.'