Description
A round black obsidian cabochon about an inch (25 mm) across, domed, set in a wide gold-tone rim that stands out all around, on an adjustable band. It is the only cocktail ring in the catalogue.
A cocktail ring is a thing apart: it does not accompany an outfit, it finishes it. This one covers the first joint from edge to edge, and at that size there are only two outcomes, the ridiculous or the obvious. What tips it onto the right side is that it has no decoration at all: a black disc, a gold circle, nothing else. The shape is so simple that it reads as deliberate, which it is.
The round, rather than the oval, is a choice about how it reads. An oval follows the finger and tries to blend into it; a circle follows nothing, it sits across and is seen from everywhere, including in profile. On a perfectly smooth black stone the result is a very clean dark point at the end of the hand, which the light crosses with a crescent reflection as it moves. The other rings are here.
Two reservations. The head is wider than the finger, so the ring touches the neighboring fingers and turns if the band is not well set: close it one notch more than you would for an ordinary ring. And a stone of this diameter has weight: after a few hours you feel it. This is not a piece you forget on your hand, and that is not its role either. The size guide saves a return.
Crystal lore ties obsidian to grounding. None of that is proven, and no piece of jewellery heals anything. I have gathered separately what tradition attributes to obsidian, in the conditional from start to finish.
- Genuine black obsidian, domed round cabochon about 25 mm, closed-bezel set with no glue.
- Gold-plated brass, wide rim standing out beyond the stone all around.
- Adjustable band, to be set one notch tighter than an ordinary ring.
- A stone of this diameter has weight: it is an evening ring, not a daytime one.
What to know before you wear it
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The specifications
- Stone
- Black obsidian, volcanic glass, large round cabochon
- Diameter of the stone
- About 25 mm / 1 in
- Metal
- Gold-plated brass
- Setting
- Closed bezel, wide projecting rim
- Adjustment
- Adjustable band
- Gender
- Women
- Brand
- Bijoux Obsidienne
The gold-tone rim is a bumper
The gold-tone rim is not there to make the ring wider. It is taller and wider than the circumference of the stone, which means a knock on the side of the ring, against a door frame or a worktop, meets metal before it meets glass. Brass dents and can be repolished; obsidian flakes and cannot be repaired. On a stone an inch across that is the difference between a scratch and a loss, and it is why the rim looks over-generous.
The only vulnerable place is therefore the top, the crown of the dome, which necessarily stands above the rim or you would no longer see the stone. A knock from directly above, flat on, remains possible. In practice it is rare: hands knock sideways, almost never from over the top. The obsidian guide explains the stone.
Brass dents and can be repolished. Obsidian flakes and cannot be repaired. The rim takes the knock in its place.
Obsidian does not mind water, but gold plating wears with soap and perfume. Take the ring off before the shower, and store it on its own: a large polished surface scratches against another piece of jewellery. Cleaning an obsidian piece covers the rest.
