Full dress coat, cuff detail, Royal Naval uniform: pattern 1856. Repro ID: F4870-003 ©National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, LondonThe distinction lace or 'gold rings' on the cuffs of naval officers’ uniforms evolved from the highly decorative gold embroidery or gold lace which adorned the uniform of naval officers when it was first introduced in 1748. The uniforms of senior officers could be distinguished by the amount of gold decorating the fronts and skirts of the coat, the cuff and the pocket flaps, and the more elaborate the decoration the higher the rank. Junior officers' coats were not trimmed with gold.

In 1783, the full dress uniform of Flag Officers were embroidered with gold in the same pattern as that worn by Army Generals and their rank was shown on the cuffs as follows:

• Admirals: three rows of embroidery
• Vice-Admirals: two rows of embroidery
• Rear- Admirals: one row of embroidery

By 1795 Flag Officers wore distinction lace on the sleeves of dress and undress uniforms. Captains and commanders also had cuff lace indicative of their standing: two rows for captains and one for commanders. Epaulettes to denote rank were also introduced in 1795.

Over the years the amount of lace used on full dress became less and in 1856 distinction lace was worn on the cuffs of all coats. This was also the year when the 'curl' on the upper row of cuff lace was introduced for executive officers’ uniforms to distinguish them from officers of the civil branch. The 'curl' was eventually worn by all branches from 1918 onwards.