Description
An oval gold sheen obsidian cabochon, ringed by a row of beads, with a small bouquet of blackened silver flowers on each shoulder. It is the floral version of the series, symmetrical and plainly ornamented.
Flowers and a black stone are two registers that do not naturally go together, and that is the whole point of this model. A dark stone calls rather for geometry, scrolls, a severe line; setting flowers on it softens the whole without making it twee, because the deep black of the obsidian keeps the decoration from turning sugary. It is a balance, and it rests on the contrast more than on the drawing.
The hollows between the petals are blackened by hand, and it is that blackening which makes the flowers readable. Without it, a relief less than a tenth of an inch (2 mm) high disappears under the reflections of polished silver: you would see a bump, not a flower. The catalog offers the same stone in some fifteen settings, several of them floral, and this one is the densest in flowers. The other rings are here.
The reservation is the cleaning, and on the flowered models it is real. The hollows between the petals hold hand cream and soap, and after a few months they fill with a white deposit that cancels the contrast: the ring turns gray and the flowers disappear. A soft toothbrush and lukewarm water take it off completely, two or three times a year. Never polish.
Crystal lore ties obsidian to grounding, and gold sheen in particular to self-confidence. None of that is proven, and no piece of jewelry heals anything. I have gathered separately what tradition attributes to obsidian, in the conditional from start to finish.
- Genuine gold sheen obsidian, oval cabochon in a closed bezel, ringed by a beaded border.
- Sterling silver 925, bouquets of flowers on both shoulders, hollows blackened by hand.
- The hollows fill with cream and soap: a soft brush two or three times a year.
- Fifteen settings for the same stone: this one is the most flowered.
What to know before you wear it
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The specifications
- Stone
- Gold sheen obsidian, volcanic glass, oval cabochon
- Metal
- Sterling silver 925, S925 hallmark
- Setting
- Closed bezel ringed by a beaded border, no glue
- Decoration
- Bouquets of flowers on the shoulders, blackened hollows
- Sizes
- 52 to 62 (inner circumference in mm)
- Gender
- Women
- Brand
- Bijoux Obsidienne
A flower 1/16 in across
A flower 1/16 in (1.5 mm) across is not carved, it is struck. You first engrave the central hollow with a graver, then form the petals one by one with a doming punch, a small round-ended punch, striking once per petal. Two blows on the same petal and it is crushed. It is a gesture that cannot be corrected, and that is why the flowered rings in the series are the ones where I set aside the most settings before the stone goes in.
This setting is in the catalog because the series needed one frankly decorative model. Scrolls and arabesques stay abstract motifs; a flower is an image, and that changes who buys the ring. The other rings are here and the size guide saves a return.
A petal is struck once. Two blows in the same place and it is crushed, with no way back.
Obsidian does not mind water, but it shatters on impact. Take the ring off before DIY and sport. The hollows between the petals hold hand cream: a soft toothbrush and lukewarm water two or three times a year. Never polish: the black in the hollows goes and the flowers disappear. Cleaning an obsidian piece covers the rest.
