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. By the 19th century, rings were often of a fairly standard design, the inscription 'In memory of' or 'Memento' was placed around the outside of the hoop whilst personal information could be added to the inner hoop. Black or white enamel were favoured though white enamel was often, though not universally used to commemorate children and unmarried adults.

The black enamel of this ring indicates that the deceased, Esther Ferriman, was married. Esther was born in 1775 and married George Ferriman. She died aged 42 at Kingston-upon- Thames, Surrey. Marks inside the ring show that it was made in York in 1824-5, a few years after Esther's death.