Lydia Tjioe / Ronna Sarvas Weltman

While most rings are content to sit on your fingers and look pretty, these super keen overachievers do double duty as the windows on a house or the acorns on a tree. California artist Lydia Tjioe incorporates her jewellery into clay displays, creating rings that are not only wearable and sculptural, they're sculptures, period.

Bonus link:
For more sculptural clay — rings, that is, not displays — see Bellevue, Washington's Ronna Sarvas Weltman.

Even more jewellery:

• Cappy Counard (Edinboro, PA) - sculptural metal


• Loretta Lam (Carmel, NY) - polymer clay


• Daydream Nation (Hong Kong) - arrows & bows


• Ali Nash (Ireland) - chains & stones


• Lone Løvschal (Denmark) - puffy charms

Lucia Moure / Wendy Brandes

Scandalous! What's the street price on this ring made of the white stuff — you know, porcelain? "Nuit blanche" ring by Geneva- based Colombian artist Lucia Moure. Below, some of her wood and silver "potion" rings with removable stoppers:

Bonus link: if poison's your potion, New York's Wendy Brandes has lots of pretty poison rings; this piece with green tourmaline is US$5,850.

Even more jewellery:

• Evelien Sipkes (Netherlands Antilles) - natural porcelain


• Mary Frisbee Johnson (Iowa) - medals & lenses


• Agnieszka Knap (Sweden) - organic enamel


• Andrew Geoghegan (UK) - diamond jewellery


• Teresa Smith-Mulkey (Arkansas) - silver & beads

Michael Carberry / Christopher Taylor Timberlake

I try really hard to limit the food comparisons on this blog but, sometimes, I just gotta throw in the dishtowel. Yes, rings, you look just like tasty noodles and calamari — are you happy now? Sculptural rings cooked up by England's Michael Carberry.

Bonus link: speaking of calamari, Chicago's Christopher Taylor Timberlake creates jewellery by cold-casting metal into the hollowed-out bone of cuttlefish.

Even more jewellery:

• Blox (San Diego, CA) - geometric glass


• David Watkins (UK) - light & graphic


• Fluidance (San Francisco) - fluid lines


• Poelie Jansen (Netherlands) - contemporary silver


• Nan Blair (Denver) - stone & bone

Saya Hibino / Masami Kelly/ Code / Inbal Bittan / Lily Gardner

No-frills frills: lace gets a hard edge when cast in metal. Pictured above are rings by Japan's Saya Hibino (top), San Francisco's Masami Kelly (rows 2 and 3) and UK jeweller Rachel Watson of Code (bottom).

Here's another by Tel Aviv's Inbal Bittan.

And here's two more. These rings by London's Lily Gardner feature lace set on mirrors.

Bonus link: of course, some lace rings are frilly, like these ones by Cleveland's Colette A. Zilka (far left) and Paris- based Yazbukey.

Even more jewellery:

• Lacqueus (Australia) - lace flowers


• Ulani (Germany) - crochet necklaces


• Lori Meg Gottlieb (Maryland) - contemporary metal


• Maureen Lynch (Ireland) - circles & squares


• Luisa Di Gresy (Italy) - gold & gems

Skeletal Metal / Lars Kemper

Last Monday, it was dentistry. This Monday, on "When Medical Procedures and Jewellery Collide," we have surgery. Skeletal Metal, based in Las Vegas, takes stainless steel reconstruction plates used in orthopaedic surgery and shapes them into jewellery (for outside the body). Available with ("ReCon") or without ("PreCon") screw holes.

Bonus link:
Can't get enough of rings with holes? Here are some more by Prague furniture and product designer Lars Kemper.

Even more jewellery:

• Kria Jewelry (New York) - bones & branches


• Close to the Bone (UK) - nuts & silver


• Zina Kao (California) - simple shapes


• Lars Torvaldsson (Sweden) - titanium bands


• Breda Haugh (Ireland) - metal leaves

Felicious / Rachel Swan

Perfectly simple. Rings in silver and semiprecious tubes by Germany's Felicitas Seidler, aka Felicious. More of her work below:

Bonus link:
For more simple and modern silver, see Irish jeweller Rachel Swan; pictured is her dome ring with pearl.

Even more jewellery:

• Celeste Howell (California) - simple & modern


• Sally Elizabeth (UK) - shiny pods


• Nick Tretiak (Syracuse, NY) - acrylic & wood


• Adriana Carador (Brazil) - gold & glitz


• James Thurman (Pennsylvania) - art jewellery

Petr Dvorak / Doris Maninger

Petr Dvorak must be an employee of the fabled Department of Redundancy Department. Who knew they were based in Austria and that their chief mission was awesome metalsmithing? Visit his site for geometric jewellery, the bronze finger ring pictured above and interesting vessels like this:

Bonus link:
Thimble ring — or "hat for your finger" ring, as she calls it — in silver and quartz by another Austrian jeweller, Doris Maninger (now based in Italy).

Even more jewellery:

• Hagar Satat (Israel) - leather & metal


• Von Kottwitz (New York) - heavy chains


• Alexis Rossi (San Francisco) - beaded necklaces


• Libby Mills (Connecticut) - polymer clay


• Karen Christie (UK) - contemporary silver

Hagen Gamisch / AbraxasRex / Maya Jewels

Vaguely futuristic and definitely cool, these rings were designed by Germany's Hagen Gamisch.

Here's another piece of chunky crystal that's at least futuristic by name: the "starship" ring, literally receiving the white-glove treatment, by New York's AbraxasRex (Paris Cain).

Bonus link:
More chunky quartz, this time from Chhaya Kapadia of New York's Maya Jewels. (I have some similar pieces in my shop right now, too.)

Even more jewellery:

• Odara (Brazil) - chunky quartz


• Valeria Martinez (Chile) - silver & crystal


• KC Gallagher (Ireland) - small & simple


• Shamila (Seattle) - briolettes & gold


• Pam Caidin (Colorado) - twotone metal

Tina Frey / Nicole Dehalleux

I like to think of these rings as exorcised wine gums: all the bright colours and iniviting shapes, minus the pork-derived gelatin, malic acid and artificial flavourings. Yay! Resin "Capri" rings, US$104, by San Francisco's Tina Frey.

Bonus link:
And here, we have some exorcised Turkish delight. Resin and silver rings by Belgium's Nicole Dehalleux.

Even more jewellery:

• Angela Knipe (UK) - felted allsorts


• Inga Reed (Ireland) - clean & modern


• Mauri Pioppo (New York) - modern classics


• Annette van Tongeren (Netherlands) - silver & cabs


• Elisabeth Soppelsa (Ontario) - contemporary metal

Eily O'Connell / Minna Kiviniemi

Bridging the gap (look, puns!) between dentistry and jewellery is the "Fountain of Wisdom" ring in cast oxidized silver with, yes, the artist's own wisdom tooth. That artist? Ireland's Eily O'Connell. Below, more of her gorgeous rings with cold enamel and hand-cut gems and glass:

Bonus link:
A tooth ring that seems to have benefitted from better fluoride protection, by Finnish jeweller Minna Kiviniemi of T:mi Korulähde.

Even more jewellery:

• Farrah Dragon (Los Angeles) - matte metal


• Lera de Marini (Italy) - pretty gems


• Sally Laing (New Zealand) - enamel & silver


• Claudia Leroy (Brazil) - glam gold


• Duffy Designs (Greenville, SC) - inlaid beads

Daisy Morrison / SupaRina / Jean Christophe / Pierrette Ashcroft / Foppish

This "First Date" ring by England's Daisy Morrison is stamped with "Fly to Paris" on the inside... which sounds extravagant, until you realize they're birds, so it's not like they're buying airline tickets. If anything, it's quite the aerobic undertaking, especially if they're carrying their own luggage, and they're likely to arrive exhausted and sweaty. Birds don't sweat, you say? I would submit that there are far greater appeals to suspension of disbelief in this scenario.

Anyway, moving along...

Clockwise from top left: pink acrylic by Germany's SupaRina, loopy and floating hearts by Jean Christophe of Paris, brushed sterling by Pierrette Ashcroft (aka Brown Dog Designs) of Washington, DC, and 18k "love" ring with diamond by Japan's Foppish. Enjoy your weekend!

Bonus link: after a week of killer bunnies and bunny fur, here's a plain old bunny — and heart, of course — from New Zealand jeweller Sandra Gunn of Georgie Scarlett.

Even more jewellery:

• Milena Kovanovic (London) - ruffled metal


• Emily Elizabeth (New York) - gold leaves


• Denise Julia Reytan (Germany) - bright fabrics


• Kathryn Williamson (UK) - hearts & beads


• Paula Nummela (Finland) - simple silver

Sara Spalinger / Lise Olsen (The Original Fifi Lambshtrumph)

I was halfway through writing a post about how, heeeeyy, it's almost as if these rings were meant to represent WINTER and SUMMER, amirite? And then I noticed the collections were named "winterschlaf" and "sommernachtstraum." So, iamrite but, also, iamslow. Rings in rabbit fur and Swarovski crystal beads by Swiss jeweller Sara Anja Spalinger Muttner of Schmucke Dinge Spa.

Bonus link: "No Regrets" mink rings, £12, by UK milliner Lise Olsen of The Original Fifi Lambshtrumph (name, in case you were wondering, inspired by Pipi Longstocking).

Even more jewellery:

• Tina Rath (Portland, ME) - fur & ebony


• Alixe Ikehata (Germany) - crochet & beads


• Lizzie Kershaw (UK) - silver lilies


• Deb Durant (Berkeley, CA) - gold & gems


• Catherine Iskiw (New York) - interlocking bands

The Apple Tree / Margarita Alonso

Rabbit-and-crosshammers is the new skull-and-crossbones. Pass it on. These badass bunnies are the brainchild(ren) of Thai jeweller The Apple Tree, whose pieces are cute and whimsical — but with the right amount of edge. From the faucet ear cuff to the giant cake bangle, this tree is full of must-see pieces. Do yourself a favour and check it out!

Bonus link:
If you prefer your rabbits in a more familiar milieu, see the "Abracadabra" magician's rabbit ring by Spain's Margarita Alonso.

Even more jewellery:

• Penny Williams (UK) - folksy animals


• Sirena Con Jersey (Spain) - playful pendants


• Kukka (Saara Renvall) (Finland) - reflective brooches


• Mimi Kim (California) - briolettes & chains


• Rhonda Zwillinger (Arizona) - beaded neckpieces

Silvia Walz / Betsy Bensen

House rings, I've seen. Floorplan rings with vivid colours and grand balconies, evocative of breezy Mediterranean villas — now that's something new. In "Las Casitecturas," Spanish jeweller Silvia Walz turns architectural layouts into wearable art. The rooms symbolize memories, while the walls symbolize safety; these rings (and brooches, also pictured above) are, for her, protective amulets.

Bonus link:
You knew this was coming as soon as I said "house rings." Here's a quaint one in silver by Betsy Bensen of West Linn, Oregon.

Even more jewellery:

• House of Flora (UK) - awesome lucite


• Gavin Hitchings (New Zealand) - architectural brooches


• Molly Shattuck Thomas (Providence, RI) - polymer beads


• Lauralee Hutson (Ohio) - enamel & silver


• Gaby Simão (Brazil) - metal & gems

Zoë Catherine Kendall / Delfina Delettrez

It's the stuff of Pan's Labyrinthian nightmares... and I mean that in the best way possible. The unisex "Precious Creatures" collection by London's Zoë Catherine Kendall is a menagerie of fine silver critters with coloured glass eyeballs. If you don't like being watched, her "Rough Cut" series has similar rings with raw cut stones instead of eyes.

Bonus link: for more eyeballs, see Rome's Delfina Delettrez (a member of the Fendi family). Though she doesn't name Guillermo del Toro as an influence, she does name Tim Burton.

Even more jewellery:

• Mark Rooker (Harrisonburg, VA) - sculptural sci-fi


• Jewelry 10 (Locust Valley, NY) - crazy animals


• SA'D (Spain) - enamel & gold


• Kiki Brodmerkel (Germany) - sleek contemporary


• Kumiko Kihara (UK) - textured silver

Fiel Complementos (Daniela Gloger & Jimena Bravo) / ONA / Macarena Gaete

Do not be alarmed if you have a sudden urge to pet these rings and feed them apples. The colourful fibers are actually woven horsehair, a traditional Chilean craft. Returning to Chile after a seven-year stint in Barcelona, designer Daniela Gloger decided to reconnect with her cultural roots and, along with Jimena Bravo, started creating jewellery as Fiel Complementos — a name chosen to reflect their fealty to their South American homeland.

Above, a few more horsehair rings from ONA, a gallery of Andean artisanal work.

Bonus link:
For more horsehair jewellery, as well as silver work like this ring with carnelian, see Chile's Macarena Gaete.

Even more jewellery:

• Jacqueline Bertolla Rossi (Chile) - simple & modern


• Avanto (Lila Nemirovsky) (Argentina) - glass beads


• Mina Joyas (Mexico) - cocktail rings


• Carla Amorim (Brazil) - gold & turquoise


• Rebaba (Spain) - silk medals

Claire Karó / Lushbella / Sophie Gardner

More ribbon rings today, this time in the form of lace-up corsets by Vienna's Claire Karó.

For a more subtle variation on those bright laces, check out these threaded brass rings by Lushbella of Kansas City. Available in silk, gossamer, mohair, cotton or chenille thread in a variety of colours.

Bonus link:
For the ribbon-averse, there's the all-metal corset ring in sterling silver, US$190, by Sophie Gardner of Seattle.

Even more jewellery:

• Do Collection (Netherlands) - silver balls


• Susan Fenwick (UK) - simple & contemporary


• Ponte Vecchio (Japan) - sparkly pavé


• Suzanne Perisic (San Diego, CA) - semiprecious stones


• Xen (Germany) - stainless steel

Martin Wittwer / Spragwerks (Rich Sandomeno)

These rings are poetry for your fingers! I'm not being cheesy, I'm being literal. Each piece of grosgrain ribbon is embroidered with part of a poem, the full text of which is printed on a postcard that comes with the ring. Available in an alphappropriate 26 colours, they're by Germany's Martin Wittwer.

Bonus link: fans of a certain poet might appreciate this skull ring. Alas, poor Yorick, it's the "Hamlet" by mechanic-turned-metalsmith Rich Sandomeno of Spragwerks (based in Los Angeles).

Even more jewellery:

• Anke Hennig (Germany) - organic textiles


• Shari K Stadel (New York) - modern metal


• Judith Kenny (Scotland) - cute silver


• Ania Wagner (San Francisco) - wooden bangles


• Sze Accessories (Malaysia) - beads & charms

HomeRoom Clothing / Wes Airgood / Gin Bartlett

Another day, another double-ring. And this one really packs a punch — or a "kaboom," I should say. Also available in "pow" or plain, and in single-finger versions, these playful pieces are by San Francisco's HomeRoom Clothing.

If you buy comics for the pictures, not the sound effects, here's a pictographic kaboom. The "Bomb and Diamonds" ring by Wes Airgood of Athens, Georgia features an onyx flip-top, booby-trapped.

Bonus link:
Ok, enough with the explosives. Bring the peace in with the "Peace Out!" ring from Be. True (Houston's Gin Bartlett). Available in sterling or gold fill.

Even more jewellery:

• Dax Savage (Hollywood) - war-inspired


• Obsessively Chasing Dollars (New York) - razors & knives


• Urbanskin (France) - handcut leather


• Alison Levy (UK) - metal & pearls


• Joyería Suárez (Spain) - gems & onyx

If this page is missing posts from the first few days of this month, it's because I've reached my Blogger page limit! To read all posts, see the full monthly archives at TheCarrotbox.com