Although some people refer to a “family crest” and a “coat of arms” interchangeably, there is a difference. A crest is an element or part of a coat of arms, but not the entire arms.

Trump accused of plagiarising family crest. 30 May 2017. Share Save. Joel Gunter. ... It is illegal in the UK to assume another family's coat of arms, but someone doing so in England, ...

After discovering that her ancestor had invented his own coat of arms in the 16th century, Mattie Kahn enlisted jeweler Briony Raymond to turn the family crest into a modern heirloom.