Small Town – ring with thistles

The name of the ring refers to the small town where I was born and raised. It is surrounded by numerous limestone based meadows, where I have always loved walking. Every time I go back there, I go for a walk in the meadows. This summer my attention was especially caught by the fuller’s teasel (Dipsacus fullonum). The prickly and thorny teasel was covered with delicate lilac flowers and attracted industrious bumblebees. The whole meadow was decorated with thistles of various colors, sizes and shapes, and hard working insects flew around them, busy with their business. The whole picture looked like a small town.

The shape of the fuller’s teasel directly reminded me of the cactus amethyst, which became the main character of the scene on the ring. A bumblebee adorned with a moonstone and an orange sapphire circles busily around it. The flowers of the other ring thistles are made of faceted amethysts and their heads are decorated with small amethysts, tsavorites, sapphires and peridots. On one of the smaller thistles also sits a bumblebee decorated with amethyst and orange sapphires. The bumblebee wings are gilded.

The piece was showcased during an exhibition in the Distrcit Museum in Toruń, Poland (2023) and during GemGeneve in Geneva, Switzerland (2023).

Cactus Amethyst, 3 Faceted Amethysts 10mm Dia, Cabochon Amethyst, Cabochon Moonstone, 4 Orange Sapphires (2-2.2mm Dia), 5 Blue Sapphires (2mm Dia), 5 Tsavorites (2mm Dia), 6 Amethysts ( 2 mm in diameter), 11 peridots (dia. 1.8 mm), gilding

Size: index finger 14 (US 6 ¾, 54 mm circumference, 17 mm diameter) and ring finger approx 12 (US 6, 52 mm circumference, 16.4 mm diameter)

Dimensions: approx. 7.5 cm wide x approx. 5 cm long x 5 cm high (+ rings height 2 cm)

Weight: 106.8g

Silver 925

Date of creation 2023