Large Marquise Smoky Quartz Ring in an Open Freeform Mounting in 10k Yellow Gold

A large marquise smoky quartz runs nearly the full height of this ring, set lengthwise, a light clear warm brown that pales toward the centre of the stone. It is held along both sides by prongs cast as part of the frame, with its points nested into the gold at either end. The mounting is freeform yellow gold, pierced straight through on both sides so that you can see daylight between the strands, which look poured or grown rather than built. The openwork continues beneath the head and finishes in a plain polished split shank. 8.10 grams of 10k yellow gold.

The mounting is as much air as it is metal, and that is the trick of it. A stone this big and this pale needs a substantial frame around it or it looks like costume; but a frame this size made solid would turn an eight-gram ring into a fifteen-gram one that nobody could wear all day. Piercing it through gives your eye all the weight and gives your hand almost none. The gold itself is left rough and irregular, with the strands running where they seem to want to, and against all that movement the long smooth stone reads as very calm. It is a big ring that does not feel like one. Hold it up to a window and look through the sides.