Find Your Rock n Roll Ring by Bikerringshop

Can you imagine an avid rocker or rock’n’roller without any accessories? We can’t! All these chain necklaces, massive rings, and leather bracelets became an indispensable attribute of their stage image. Even more, practically every rock musician takes his treasured jewelry into the real-world. Whether they are on a vacation, go shopping, or hang out with friends, you’ll still be able to catch a glimpse of metal sheen on their fingers. One of the greatest things about jewelry is that it easily migrates from stages and magazine covers to the street and mainstream fashion. If rock n roll rings are something you enjoy, it is a no-bother to find loads of options online or on the shelves of actual jewelry stores. Buckle up, because Bikerringshop is going to take you on an enthralling cruise through rock n roll jewelry. Every piece we are going to show in this post can take pride of place in your private collection.

Origination of Rock and Roll Jewelry

Wikipedia gives a cue that rock n roll originated in the 1960s. It was about one and a half decades after biker clubs had come on the scene. The motorcycle movement became an inspiration for energetic musicians with guitars. They were fascinated by daring looks motorcyclists flaunted in real life, as well as by biker images Hollywood dreamboats embodied on the screen. Enchanted by masculine-looking leather jackets, chunky boots, and, of course, leftfield jewelry, rock n rollers wanted to try on these rebellious looks for themselves.

Everything was in moderate at first. They combined jewelry with sleek jackets, starched shirts, and ironed trousers and thus, produced rather decent images. It all changed in the 1970s when musicians started shedding the looks of mama’s boys and trade them for something more daring and outlandish. Rock and roll decided to get rid or roll and go only with rock. Leather started dominating rocker wardrobe and simultaneously with that, it became full of burly rings, countless bracelets, and three-pound necklaces.

Since rockers still had an eye on bikers, they borrowed a lot of motifs common in the motorcycle environment. Flames, crosses, and ubiquitous crosses started being seen across rockers’ chests and fingers more often. Along with that, the rock subculture developed its own unique symbols, many of which continue living in body ornaments to this day.

Skulls – Essential Rock Symbols

The main reason why men are crazy about skull jewelry is that it looks super masculine. Technically, ladies wear skulls as well but they tend to be more artistic and muted while guys prefer larger-than-life and spookier-than-death looks. A lady spotting a skull ring on his finger must immediately think that he dreads nothing because he is not afraid to flaunt a death symbol. Since literally every man wants to assert himself as a bold fearless individual, skull symbolism hits the spot to emphasize the wild side of his personality.

However, skulls are much more than a means to boost masculinity. From time immemorial, they have been harboring the meaning of life and death, morbidity and immortality, and everything in between. For many rock musicians, a skull symbol becomes a reminder of the times he or she was on the verge of death.

Let’s take the famous Keith Richards ring that he has been wearing for more than 40 years now, is it a symbol of rebellion or a memento mori? The Rolling Stones guitarist was arrested five times in the seventies only. Flirting with death became his addiction. Yet, it is 2020 and the old-timer is still with us. Some people speculate that the skull ring became his guardian angel. Well, bikers agree that skull paraphernalia helps cheat the Grim Reaper so maybe it works for rockers, too?

Apart from that, many musicians sport skull rings as a symbol of survival. For instance, Dave Navarro, Jane’s Addiction guitarist, earned his right to wear skulls after defeating heroin addiction. As a symbol representing both life and death, a skull is a perfect way to remind yourself that you might wave stepped on the death path but if you have the strength to turn off, life will be your reward.

Be as it may, a skull is a rock staple. Every self-respecting rocker flaunts skulls in one way or another be it jewelry, skull printed t-shirts, or tattoos. Some bands went even further and immortalized skulls on their logos – just like Guns n Roses, the Offspring, the Exploited, Misfits, and many others.

Crosses and Crucifixes

A cross is another wildly popular symbol in rock subculture. Let’s forget for a moment that there are pious Christians among rockers, too. The major reason why they adorn themselves with crosses is that it is a controversial symbol that easily raises eyebrows. While rockers are known to hit the news due to their behavior, crosses help them grab the headlines of the most (flamboyant/tasteless/unique, pick your own word) celebs. The church and its followers frown upon wearing crosses as fashion jewelry and this fact surely encourages rockers and others like them to wear more provocative and incongruous versions of crosses and crucifixes. For instance, instead of an old good crucifix with Christ, how about putting on a ring with a crucified skull?

Anyways, there is more than one way to sport a cross ring. It may be just a complement for a huge cross pendant hanging from your neck, a centerpiece of the entire image, or part of scattered cross-themed trinkets. We saw lots of rockers gravitating to simple all-metal cross rings and even more musicians choosing intricate stone-clad pieces. Whatever option you personally incline to, one thing is for sure – such a ring will surely turn heads.

Star Rings

Who are rockers? Musicians, celebs, influencers, and living legends? Yes to all of that! Plus, they are stars, superstars! No wonder that rockers rock star rings. Who wouldn’t like basking in the rays of fame? Oh yeah, they definitely enjoy it. And to emphasize their superstar status even more, they pick superstar rings.

Again, we offer a few star ring options. Some look like signet rings with a flat head because real stars don’t need to shift attention to their hands from their faces. More eccentric individuals would go with something more graphic and sophisticated. For instance, this Rock star ring besides the star symbol in the center features a horseshoe and tree of life images. The horseshoe is an old symbol of luck, the tree of life is pretty self-explanatory, and stars can mean prosperity, health, and a simplified pentagram with a unique meaning for each end (fire, earth, metal, water, and wood).

Rock Band Logos

Rock bands are similar to brands in many ways. A popular brand will bring its owners billions of dollars, so does a rock band. Similar to enterprises, they create their unique logos and register them as trademarks. Who doesn’t know the legendary tongue-hanging Rolling Stones, electrifying AC/DC, winged Aerosmith, or barbed-wired Metallica logos? Logoed merchandise is always sought-after among the fans who want to associate themselves with their favorite groups. Bikerringshop doesn’t have licenses to craft jewelry with band logos so you won’t find those in our assortment but you can unearth lots of banded-branded jewelry on the Internet. Just giving you a hint :)

Pirate Symbolism

What do pirates and rock stars have in common? They are loved by women, maybe? Well, that’s too, but primarily, it is their way of life. Both groups set themselves apart from the prim society that does everything right but has no room for fun and adventures. Well, rockers and pirates alike maintain a lifestyle of rebels, outlaws, misfits, gentlemen of fortune, and it comes as no surprise that both pick skulls to represent them.

Rockers may not wear eye patches and don’t carry parrots on their shoulders but they respect the free spirit and thirst for adventures inherent in pirates. Keith Richards looked so natural as Jack Sparrow’s dad, so we have no doubt that every rocker would become a great pirate.

Their Passions and Addictions

It is not a secret that many (if not all) rock n roll stars live a turbulent life full of temptations, passions, and addictions. Some of them, unfortunately, are so keen on playing with death that they don’t notice crossing the line. You’ve probably heard about the 27 Club. They lived bright, they lived fast, and they said goodbye to our world at the age of 27. Legendary Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, and more than 20 rock and roll legends made it to this club. Risqué lifestyle, alcohol and drug addiction are the main reasons why they didn’t stay with us longer. Some of their addictions are not life-threatening (gambling, for example) but could cost them a career, family, and money.

Those who found the strength to overcome their weaknesses often carry something to remind that they won this battle and don’t want to go back to square one. Others live with the motto ‘sex, drugs, and rock n roll forever’ and just don’t want to let go of something that makes them feel good. Either way, these addictions and passions often become running themes in rock jewelry, especially custom-made.

Music-Themed Rings

For a guitarist, a guitar is the most precious thing on earth. A piano player worships his instrument. A drummer can’t imagine his life without drums and sticks, and a vocalist – without a microphone. It is natural that they pick accessories corresponding to their walk of life. Rings (and pendants, earrings, bracelets, etc) with notes, guitars, drumsticks, microphones, guitars and guitar picks, and headphones help put a cohesive and holistic rock n roll image together. It’s even cooler if you can get your hands on items featuring portraits of rock legends or their stylized images.

Punk is Not Dead

Some people would argue that punk is not exactly rock n roll but we tend to view it as a much broader category that includes every genre which banks on is roaring guitars and drum rolls. Since punk rock tends to be more aggressive and even more rebellious (can you imagine it?), its symbolism reflects this adversarial attitude. It is thanks to punks we started wearing studded leather jackets and studded everything else. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that punk jewelry oftentimes features these studs, spikes, piercing, and other elements of an iconic punk rock look. Even though punk symbolism heavily relies on skulls, they differ from regular ones. They are sullen, gloomy, and permeated with the spirit of decadence, just like this silver skull.

Iconic Rock n Roll Symbolism

Hand horn has so many alternative names – rock fist, devil sign, metal sign, goat horns, metal horns, evil fingers, and much more. You’ve probably seen it many times and know how it looks but if you don’t, just put your fist up and extend your index and little finger while keeping the thump over the middle and ring fingers, and here you go. The world doesn’t know a rockier sign than this one. In the rock subculture, it was first used in 1969 by psychedelic-occult band Coven. However, it became massively popular and recognized after Ronnie James Dio (Black Sabbath) started flashing it to connect with the audience.

Interestingly, Ozzie Osbourne, the band’s frontman, is known for demonstrating the peace sign, another popular symbol in music. Originally, it was a symbol of British anti-nuclear activism of the late 1950s but soon enough it caught hippies’ attention and they popularized it across the globe. Literally every political or social movement happening in the XX century found its reflection in music; pacifism and flower power were no exceptions. Since the 1960s, you can see the peace sign in jewelry and this trend is not going anywhere even in the XXI century.