the dracula rings

[Count_Zirock]

Here are a couple of pretty informative articles about it.
"The Truth About Factory Entertainment's Ring of Dracula"
"Debate & Analysis: Forry Ackerman's 'Dracula' Ring"

[moonvisage]

Just a little info regarding the Official Sir Christopher Lee Dracula Ring,from the christopherleeweb site.I seem to recall around 2008,when the last of the dracula rings was made,there was a query on the forum regarding the ring and why it was not being made anymore.I think it was Juan who replied that the reason the rings were stopping,was because Sir Christopher was too old to make the rings himself now,and that he never allowed anybody other than himself to make,or touch them.Sir Christopher would make the rings,including filing them,and put them in a box,then seal them in packaging.Juan would then pick up the package and post it,never actually seeing or touching the ring himself.
I have tried searching for the reply Juan gave above,and the posts/threads,but it seems to have been removed ( perhaps when they changed to a newer forum software? ).Just to let everyone who bought one know,if memory serves me correctly,all the rings we bought from the christopherleeweb site,were made by Sir Christopher Lee himself.No other human looked upon them,breathed upon them or touched them... until we buyers did when we opened the box.

[Count_Zirock]

That's interesting to know. I wish Sir Christopher would allow someone to make the rings for him. I'm not really thrilled with the recast-of-a-recasting sold by Haunted Studios. Maybe he could even license it through Hammer and Factory Entertainment. It sounded like they were interested.

[moonvisage]

Here are a couple of pretty informative articles about it.
"The Truth About Factory Entertainment's Ring of Dracula"
"Debate & Analysis: Forry Ackerman's 'Dracula' Ring"

I've just realized,nobody mentions this forum in any of the two links posted,and the two sites don't post links to this forum either when they are making reference to the conversations about dracula rings on the internet.Very remiss of them.

[Count_Zirock]

I found some more pix of JimmyB's one-of-a-kind silver and black onyx ring from Extreme Silver of Hong Kong. Thought I'd post them for reference.

[jwgumby]

Here is the best still I could get of the original ring being worn in its first appearance in "House of Frankenstein". Unfortunately still a little blurry but maybe I can get something a bit clearer later on.




Click the second link here to see a large view of this photo
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/90708792(*at*)N07/8239032708/" title="dracula ring3 by jwgumby, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8066/8239032708_77cd4402c6_c.jpg" width="800" height="548" alt="dracula ring3"></a>

[Count_Zirock]

It's too bad there are no shots of the back of the ring. It would be cool to see what it looked like before Richard Sheffield had it sized to fit his finger!

[jwgumby]

A little clearer look at the original Dracula ring.   click second link below.



<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/90708792(*at*)N07/8243598460/" title="ring4 by jwgumby, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8477/8243598460_56d7756141_c.jpg" width="800" height="518" alt="ring4"></a>

[Ghost]

A little clearer look at the original Dracula ring.   click second link below.



<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/90708792(*at*)N07/8243598460/" title="ring4 by jwgumby, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8477/8243598460_56d7756141_c.jpg" width="800" height="518" alt="ring4"></a>

[Simon Rowson]

Hello everyone,

I'm always very interested to read threads such as this one concerning the various 'Dracula rings' as, like many of you, I've been fascinated with this ring's design and film history for many, many years.

I myself own four versions of the ring (alas, not including Forry's original) - these being a casting in base metal by Richard Sheffield, the Christopher Lee website silver casting, the QMx silver/carnelian replica and the Factory Entertainment silver/carnelian 'elite edition'.

Therefore, if I may, I'd like to add a few pictures and make some observations based upon the rings in my collection and a close-up of the original.


Firstly, here's the real prop (the famous shot from 'Famous Monsters')



And here are pictures of my four rings (please forgive the lousy photography):


#1 The casting by Richard Sheffield. As far as I am aware, there have never been any doubts that these rings were cast from the original prop whilst it was in Sheffield's possession and so it's probably good to use this example as a yardstick for the others regarding the crest motif.


#2 The silver version once offered for sale on the Christopher Lee website - very similar to the Sheffield casting but the details are a little 'blobby' (especially the bat) suggesting a second or later generation mould.
Having said that, here is a shot of Lee's own ring from 'Dracula AD 1972' and the details appear to be just as rounded:




#3 QMx replica



#4 Factory Entertainment 'Elite Edition'



And finally, some direct comparisons:


The QMx ring (left) and Factory Entertainment (right)
Note the differences in dimensions of the setting - impossible if both rings were cast directly from FJA's original as claimed.


The FE ring (left) worn alongside the QMx (right)
Note the larger, slightly cruder crest on the FE example which also lacks certain fine details shared by FJA's original, the Sheffield and Lee castings and the QMx replica - namely the five circular shapes under the four holes in the large upper crown, the marginally more domed third hole on said top crown and, finally, the small 'globes' which appear above the upper right and lower left crowns on the shield (something that is seemingly always omitted in 're-imaginings' of this ring).


The Sheffield casting (left) and the QMx (right)
Not a great photo I'm afraid but, in the hand, it's very obvious that these two pieces were cast from the same source material - presumably FJA's original prop.

Therefore, my own conclusion  - for what it's worth - is that the QMx ring is the most accurate replica of the original screen (and Forry) worn prop - yes, it's 'warts and all' with the decades of wear, tear and blemishes also reproduced but it's probably as close as anyone will get to the real thing.
The Factory Entertainment version, whilst being a very nice, pristine 'recreation' lacks the subtlety and many of the finer details of the original and I also find it very hard to believe that it is a cleaned-up casting of FJA's ring - simply because the size, shape and details just don't match up when scrutinised closely and compared to decent photos (like the ones already posted on this thread) and alongside castings with some provenance such as Sheffield's. 

All the best,
Simon

PS: I keep the Lee ring in a display based on the Count's resurrection 'relics' in 'TtBoD' so here's one last pic:

[Count_Zirock]

While I've always felt that the QMx Dracula Crest ring was the most accurate version made (so far), it was difficult to obtain and is notorious for having its crest fall off. I'm very satisfied with my Factory Entertainment versions . . . until something better comes along.

I'm also very happy with my Dimensional Designs "Ultimate Edition." No, it isn't screen-accurate, but it's a great variation on the theme. It's a bit more "bling"-y, and never fails to get noticed on the rare occasions that I wear it.

[Simon Rowson]

Hi Count,

Please don't think I was belittling any of the other rings.

Opinions on any forum and on such topics are always subjective, being based on personal tastes or interests. I just happen to be concerned with screen accuracy rather than fashion or wearability. (Besides, I don't think anyone would even bat an eyelid at any of my rings if I wore them here in Tokyo!)

Also, I though it might be interesting to the folks on UMA to see the comparisons.

Simon

[Count_Zirock]

It was interesting, Simon, and I was just reacting to the images. My Chris Lee Dracula ring is a recast of a recast, sold by Haunted Studios. Sir Christopher stopped selling his recasts in 2010, I believe.
I've not seen many images of Dimensional Designs' original, now sold out Dracula ring, but it didn't appear nearly as screen-accurate as the QMX version. For whatever its flaws, the FE version is the only one licensed by Universal and the current owner of the actual prop.
By the way, that TtBoD resurrection kit is awesome!

[ChrisB]

Hi everyone,

I realize I'm reviving an ancient thread but I consider the topic undead...

Since I am currently starring as Dracula in a stage production in Hamburg, Germany, I got interested in "the ring" and in aquiring different versions of it to wear on stage.

In my research I collected the following images and background information, and since I learned a lot on this forum and from you guys, too, I want to share these with you:


The original Dracula crest ring in "House of Frankenstein"


The Dracula crest on the coffin in "House of Frankenstein"


The Dracula crest on the coffin in "House of Dracula" - I think this is the clearest image we get of the crest and we can clearly make out the details like the circular shapes on the bottom of the top crown (changed in the Factory Entertainment version to straight lines) and the individually shaped small crowns (all identical in the Factory Entertainment versions). The upper right of the small crowns almost looks like it has a bird's head on it. I think it's fair to say the original designs had a lot more details worn down on the Ackerman ring and completely ignored during the polishing of the Factory Entertainment versions.


The Alucard crest ring from "Son of Dracula". One can easily make out that the ring is the same ring - only the crest was changed for "House of Frankenstein" from the Alucard crest to the Dracula crest. When the ring was examined for making copies of it, they actually found markings of another crest that had been on it before, which would consolidate this hypothesis.


The Alucard crest on the coffin from "Son of Dracula". The basic idea is already there - the four crowns - and interestingly a black bird instead of the bat. I even wonder if they had the Dracula crest already in mind when designing this.

So bottomline for me is:

The ring was first worn by Lon Chaney Jr. in "Son of Dracula" with a different crest on it.
It was then worn by John Carradine in "House of Frankenstein" and "House of Dracula" with the Dracula crest.
It was then worn by Bela Lugosi in "Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein" who kept it in his possession afterwards.
He later gave the ring to Richard Sheffield who gave it to Forry J. Ackerman.
Ackerman had simple cast copies made and gave one of those (in simple metal without a Carnelian blood stone) to Christopher Lee, who wore it from "Dracula has risen from the grave" onwards, which was the 4th film in the Hammer series.
Another simple copy of the ring found its way (allegedly via Christopher Lee) to Duncan Regehr who wore it in "The Monster Squad".
Ackerman said that the original ring had also been on the finger of Frank Langella as well, so probably Ackerman had him try it on on one occasion.

Judging from the images the most authentic copy is the QMX version which even features visibly different small crowns on the shield. It also features the signs of decades of wearing so the details are clearly muddy like on Ackerman's original. We can only appreciate its original beauty in the film still where it is painted on the coffin.
The Factory Entertainment rings are close but they "cleared" the muddy cast up and thus eliminated details like the now all identical crowns and the bottom part of the top crown.
The Dimensional Designs version for me is far more beautiful than the FE version but takes much more deliberate liberties with the design (which bug me much less now I see the deviations on the FE rings).
The Christopher Lee and Haunting Studios versions are a recast of a recast but still keep the original muddy cast, so they are true to the original when it comes to the crest but less so concerning the original blood stone.

I hope my little lecture was somewhat entertaining.

[Mike Scott]

Welcome to the UMA, Chris! 

Here's to a successful run in "Dracula"!