Maxwell Crest Ring

[Steve Ashton]

Harold,

You are correct that the crest is the property of the Chief. But we are talking about the artwork. Specifically the way the Chiefs crest is drawn and the belt and buckle surrounding the crest that denotes Clansman. That artwork was done by Romilly and is owned by Gaelic Themes.

It is the art work that can be protected under copyright to the artist and the artwork copyright holder. The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs commissioned Romilly Squire to render the Clan Crest series that they use. The way the Chiefs crests are rendered is artistic and the Chiefs approve but do not own the artwork.

There are many ways to draw a boars head or a sword. There are many belt and buckle designs out there. All I am reminding everyone is that this particular designed is owned by someone. It should not be used without permission.

Permission is usually easily obtained. For example I asked for, and received permission, to use this particular design when I designed the X Marks Crest Cap Badge. All it took was a courtesy email asking for permission.

[jmaxwell522]

To be honest I reworked the crest from several images found on the internet essentially to get the lines to look nice on the surface I redrew the images that looked best. They were mostly B&W gif files and such. I never thought much of ownership of a family heraldry, something to keep in mind. Thank you for the information.
As far as the printing of metal goes, I have modeled another ring and had it printed in stainless here is a photo of how it turned out in three scales, there are print lines in the product but still looks great in my eyes.:

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Harold,

You are correct that the crest is the property of the Chief. But we are talking about the artwork. Specifically the way the Chiefs crest is drawn and the belt and buckle surrounding the crest that denotes Clansman. That artwork was done by Romilly and is owned by Gaelic Themes.

It is the art work that can be protected under copyright to the artist and the artwork copyright holder. The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs commissioned Romilly Squire to render the Clan Crest series that they use. The way the Chiefs crests are rendered is artistic and the Chiefs approve but do not own the artwork.

There are many ways to draw a boars head or a sword. There are many belt and buckle designs out there. All I am reminding everyone is that this particular designed is owned by someone. It should not be used without permission.

Permission is usually easily obtained. For example I asked for, and received permission, to use this particular design when I designed the X Marks Crest Cap Badge. All it took was a courtesy email asking for permission.

Steve is, as usual, right. The artwork under discussion was created by Romilly Squire (now of Rubislaw) for The Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia which he co-authored with George Way of Plean. Later Gaelic Themes was authorized by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs to manufacture "clan badges" using the crests of the member chiefs. Given the authority to manufacture the badges, Gaelic Themes then licensed the designs created by Romilly Squire for their line of clan badges and other products. Squire is paid a royalty on each and every use of his licensed artwork.

The bottom line is this: the use of any artist's designs, without his permission, is theft. If one likes an artist's designs enough to invest in having something made, they should be willing to at least offer to pay for them, rather than rip him off and hope to get away with it.

[jmaxwell522]

Hey all,
Well I abandoned the easy formatting ring, it just never proved to come through with good detailing. Instead I contracted a 3D modeler to help me with working the models I had. The result is great it came out a bit small (Size 8-8.5 US) when completed I'm working on the model to increase the size and have a few sizes available for my dad and brother, if enough interest is noted I'd make it available for purchase. This particular piece was made in stainless steel.

674x501_1125085_1037107_1369918967.jpg20130617_201440.jpg20130617_201518.jpg20130617_201536.jpg

[davidlpope]

By leaving out the strap and buckle element, though, haven't you appropriated the crest of the Chief of the Maxwells for your personal use?

[jmaxwell522]

My understanding was the crest of the Chief included three feathers, the three 'stars' at the bottom more or less represent the holes in the buckle, also I've been informed that the buckle image is under some protection of artwork. The image I used was aside from the stag/bush image a complete rework to include all elements of the crest while being able to be made with detail showing nicely. If any other detail was included it would not look nice, there were several iterations and several of them did not look suitable for wear.
If someone with knowledge of this can help out it would be appreciated. I'm at a loss on if this is wrong or not.

[jmaxwell522]

Scotweb sells a crest seal ring without the buckle components as well

http://www.scotweb.co.uk/products/small-clan-crest-reverse-seal-ring/

[M. A. C. Newsome]

David is correct. It is the strap and buckle that designates one is not displaying a personal crest, but showing another's crest as a badge of allegiance.

From the Lord Lyon's web site:
"It is correct for these people [clansmen] to wear their Chiefs Crest encircled with a strap and buckle bearing their Chief’s Motto or Slogan. The strap and buckle is the sign of the clansman, and he demonstrates his membership of his Chiefs Clan by wearing his Chief’s Crest within it."

Feathers do signify an armiger or a chief, but it is not the feathers which make the crest particularly the chief's; rather it is the strap and buckle which make the crest particularly the clansman's. Many armigers wear their personal crests either in a simple circlet or alone, with no feathers.