Amethyst Ring #51

This amethyst ring was born of trial and error — and to tell you where it comes from, I have to go back to the very first ring I ever made.

That ring is the one you see the moment you arrive at lisamariearmstrong.com — the amethyst ring on the homepage. I made it in Magdeburg, on a visit to my mother-in-law. She spent the afternoon with my children, and I took the time to make something. I had always wanted an enormous amethyst ring, so I made one from raw amethyst — quickly, almost without thinking, and somehow it simply worked. That ring is what made me want to make more.

This one came later, and it came hard. About five months after my first jewelry show, I injured my ankle and could not walk for three months. Stranded at home, I decided it was as good a time as any to make rings. It turned out to be far more difficult than I expected — getting the size right, getting my medium to hold a true circle, getting everything to behave.

This particular piece has been reshaped three times. It was too big once. It was off balance once. I ground it, sculpted it, and worked through it again and again until it finally settled into the form it has now. Some pieces give themselves to you. This one made me earn it.

The texture along the side of the band — the part that reads like cut crystal — is exactly that. It comes from a mold I took of a cut crystal glass I have kept in my family for years, something very dear to me. So the ring carries a small, private inheritance pressed into its surface.

The metallics were their own long experiment. I galvanized this piece — electroplating, but onto a nonconductive surface, which means I first have to make the surface conductive before any plating can begin. It is difficult, unpredictable work, and there are many test pieces behind this one. Fine silver, palladium, and 22 carat gold. The places where the band is plated and the places where it is left bare are intentional — a deliberate conversation between metal and form.

Amethyst works with the crown and third eye chakras — intuition, clarity, spiritual protection. Worn on the hand, it stays with you through every gesture and every room you walk into.

I had to earn this ring three times over. I love it for exactly that. I hope it finds its person.

Materials: Raw amethyst, hand-sculpted proprietary medium, fine silver, palladium plating, 22K gold plating
Weight: 54.75 g / 1.93 oz
Stone: oval, 4 cm / 1.57 in long, 3 cm / 1.18 in wide; the ring stands approximately 2 cm / 0.79 in high
Ring size: approximately European 54 (US 6.75). This is a wide-banded ring, and wider bands tend to sit more snugly than narrow ones, so please allow for that. And because each ring is made entirely by hand and is not a perfect circle, the size is approximate rather than exact.

One of a kind. Made once. Yours alone.