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 sometimes 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.

This is a memorial ring for several people. It is enamelled in a funerary black and inscribed on the bezel with the name 'Daniel' and the Latin inscription, 'Samuel Myers died 10 August 1777 aged 62'; outside the hoop the Latin inscription, 'Martha Myers died 8 October 1779 aged 58', and inside 'Died 25 August aged 61'