Emily Watson / Francesca Lanzavecchia

Metal Emily. Metalemily. Metalemilymetalemilymetalemily. Almost as fun to say as LMNOP. Metalemilellemenopee! (I'm sorry, I think it's the heat stroke talking.) These delightful wooden "single sip" rings are by metalemily.com's Emily Watson, a jeweller based in Honeoye Falls, New York. Below, more rings in wood and faux bone from her "singularities" collection:

Bonus link: what goes with a single sip ring? How 'bout a single bite? This cherry tomato ring by Italy's Francesca Lanzavecchia is from her playful "disposable jewellery" series.

Even more jewellery:

• Lazerian (UK) - striking bangles


• Makkin Atelier (Maki Okamoto) (Japan) - wood & brass


• The Jewelry Story (Netherlands) - modern metal


• Cassia Appel (San Francisco) - silver & stones


• Rina R. Sterling (Nevada) - semiprecious beads

Juan Vellavsky / Roux Bijoux

I have no idea what sound a llama makes — but I'll tell you what sound I made when I saw the work of Argentina's Juan Vellavsky: eeeeeeeeee!! (Note: if the colours look odd on his site and you're using Firefox, try loading it in IE — it seemed to work better for me.)

Lots more on his site, including Miró-like work in silver and resin!

Bonus link:
Can't get enough of those mountain-dwelling beasts? Here's a mountain goat ring by Spain's Roux Bijoux (Rosa Martinez Arcos).

Even more jewellery:

• Haberdash House (UK) - circus animals


• Camilla Luihn (Norway) - modern & playful


• Charla Wertz Benner (Woodside, CA) - equestrian gold


• Tanja Roolfs (Germany) - silver crochet


• Niamh Utsch (Ireland) - metal & gems

Fie von Krogh / Abigail Connell

Can you guess what these flowers are made of?

What has both a metallic glint and a flexible quality?

It's my new favourite thing in the world: gilded plastic! As plastic is created from precious oil, Norway's Fie von Krogh wonders if "perhaps we should regard plastic as one of the most precious materials that we have." Expanding on this idea, she covers plastic in gold- and silver-leaf to create "a synergy of gilded plastic" (a reversal of her early jewellery, which featured laminated metal). Visit her site for more gorgeously pleated work!

Bonus link: for rings with gold leaf and real flowers — and even real dirt — check out Ontario jeweller Abigail Connell, who uses a wide range of materials in her work.

Even more jewellery:

• Dana Noble (Iowa) - botanical metal


• Maria Apostolou (Greece) - modern silver


• Christy Feaver (Whistler, BC) - clustered circles


• Cement (Toronto) - charm necklaces


• Octopus Parlour (New Mexico) - plastic & pin cushions

Trommelwirbel (Alin Boyaciyan) / Karina Noyons

It's Technicolour Tuesday! The sun's been turned up so high around here lately, everything looks extra cheery and colourful — including these brightly-hued rings by Germany's Trommelwirbel (Alin Boyaciyan). Pictured are rubber band rings with glass squares (top) and silver rings with nylon filament.

Bonus link:
For more colourful rubber rings, check out these "transit rings" by jeweller Karina Noyons of Denmark.

Even more jewellery:

• Ute Dippel (Germany) - bright enamel


• Knitknitknits (Brooklyn) - playful colour


• HoLe by Mamiko Togami (Japan) - fabric frills


• Petri Ruusunen (Finland) - shiny silver


• Maura Nicholson (UK) - metal clusters

Rodrigo Alonso / Susanne Weigand

We've all seen keyboard rings before but here's one that recognizes the most indispensable keys of all: Ctrl+Z. Chilean designer Rodrigo Alonso comes to the rescue of anyone who's ever wished s/he could "undo."

Visit his site for more modern jewellery and product design, such as this fun wind-up "toy" ring.

Bonus link:
Harking back to a time when keyboards didn't have a "ctrl" key at all is this ring with vintage typewriter hammers by Germany's Susanne Weigand.

Even more jewellery:

• K-boards (Italy) - vintage keyboards


• Luminic Design (Argentina) - computer parts


• Adriana McNeely (Toronto) - silver & cork


• Asa Elmstam (Sweden) - metal lace


• Fuga (Japan) - gold & briolettes

Carrie Garrott / Slane & Slane

You've probably heard about the world's bees mysteriously disappearing. This is a very serious problem because without bees, there's no beeswax, and without beeswax, there's none of this gorgeous work by Carrie Garrott. The Texas jeweller takes real flower petals (from roses to hydrangeas), coats them with beeswax and combines them with silver to create stunning organic pieces. My eyes, they are a-buzzing.

Bonus link: well, I found one bee. Just a few billion more to go. Silver ring, based on the Napoleonic symbol for wisdom, strength and nobility, by New York's Slane & Slane (sisters Heath and Landon).

Even more jewellery:

• Bumblesea (Illinois) - organic pendants


• Natasha Salkey (UK) - bees & peas


• Eamon Ellery (Rhode Island) - metal & pearls


• Jeannette Switzer (New Zealand) - silver & enamel


• 4°C (Japan) - dainty & feminine

Martin Margiela / Donna Mason Sweigart / MagpieNest

Ceci n'est pas un earring.

It's actually a double ring by Martin Margiela of Paris, whose current collection includes such other identity crises as an earring-shaped pendant and a ring-shaped cuff. (Note: you can find more jewellery in the accessories sections of their archives.)

Above, an even larger ball ring by Florida CAD artist Donna Mason Sweigart.

Bonus link: if those giant balls are a bit daunting, maybe you can work your way up by starting with 19 little balls — as in this ring by Machi de Waard of England's MagpieNest.

Even more jewellery:

• Mucca (Colombia) - silver balls


• Liz Gallie (Australia) - rattan cane


• Nina Koutibashvili (UK) - ribbed coils


• Thierry Vendome (France) - bold & glam


• Armada Nueva (Italy) - fashion jewellery

Sonja Thiemann / By Glaire

Did you know that the words "pretzel" and "bracelet" share similar etymologies? (Pretzels were meant to resemble crossed arms.) Here's where I would bring up the fabulous pretzel bracelet I found, only this is a site about rings — so here are some fabulous pretzely rings, instead. With a chunkier, more sculptural take on knots compared to yesterday is Germany's Sonja Thiemann. Visit her site for a large collection of silver pieces, including these:

Bonus link:
For more sculptural chunks of silver, check out Spain's By Glaire (Glòria Consola). Also pictured is her ring with artificial turf.

Even more jewellery:

• La Libertad (Colombia) - bold birds


• Smashing (Ohio) - enamel & glass


• Courtney Gray Arts (Texas) - sculptural silver


• Moritz Wenz (Germany) - chunky & masculine


• Phenomenon (Japan) - bowties and whistles

Linda Hemmersbach / Thomas Wiltmann

Take the 19th century, fold it into the 21st century (being careful not to overmix the batter), and you get timeless classics like these elegant knot rings. They're by German-born Londoner Linda Hemmersbach, who puts a modern spin on Victorian mourning jewellery.

She's also responsible for these hooked locket rings which, if I am inferring correctly, you can unlatch to reveal a single pearl.

Bonus link:
Germany's Thomas Wiltmann also has locket rings, which he elaborately decorates with enamel and gems.

Even more jewellery:

• Marquis & Camus (New York) - vintage style


• KirKosh (South Africa) - chunky lucite


• HJ Designs (Hazel Studstill) (Atlanta) - contemporary silver


• Amanda's Autopsies (UK) - taxidermied mice


• Ruth Finkelstein (Israel) - gold & gems

Jessica de Lotz / Erdem Özden

If you're always forgetting to turn the lights off before you leave the house, maybe the solution is to bring the switch with you. "Until the Daybreak" movable light switch ring by England's Jessica de Lotz, who was inspired by the contents of a purse she picked up at an antique market — visit her site for the story.

Bonus link: if you'd rather wear the lights than the switch, check out these "stop" and "go" rings from Turkish designer Erdem Özden.

Even more jewellery:

• Lauren Kalman (Ohio) - conceptual art


• Frank and Easy (Japan) - antique style


• Pi Jewelry (New York) - spoon handles


• Ele Keats (Los Angeles) - dainty gold


• Anke Kanning (Germany) - metal & gems

Marzia Rossi / Yukunia / Sternlab / Ailish Roughan / Jan Pycke / David Goodwin / Akiko Kurihara

Time again for Random Pluckings from My Bookmarks! Or "ranplucks" for short, because shortening things is awes.

First up: gorgeous transparency from Italy's Marzia Rossi.

Embroidered signets by Japan's Yukunia (Yukako Kawanami).

Vicodin ring (and necklace) by Arizona's Sternlab (Becky Stern).

New Zealand's Ailish Roughan has lots of pierced wrap rings.

"Whisk ring" by Dutch CAD-master Jan Pycke.

Finally, two favourite designers whom I've posted before but who now have new sites:

Scotland's David Goodwin...

... and Japan's Akiko Kurihara.

Have a safe weekend.

Even more jewellery:

• Katie Diamond (New York) - Moroccan style


• Emma Bulpit (New Zealand) - wood & metal


• Quench Metalworks (Maine) - oxidized silver


• Benedikt Spölgen (Germany) - contemporary gold


• Gasoline Glamour (Los Angeles) - Swarovski glitz

Ceren Keyman / Sevan Bicakci

With her surname, it's only fitting that Ceren Keyman is a musician. Lucky for us, her artistic talents spill over into jewellery design, as well. Check out this Turkish designer for fun, graphic pieces in colourful acrylic.

Bonus link: for a Turkish jeweller who tends more toward the intricate and ornate, see Istanbul's Sevan Bicakci ("tends" being a gross under- statement — his works are must-see!).

Even more jewellery:

• Vibe Harsløf (Denmark) - fingers & feathers


• Bettina Terepins (Brazil) - bold & chunky


• Likya by Erhan Gursen (Turkey) - rich gold


• Heather O'Connor (UK) - simple silver


• Opalescence (Calgary) - dichroic glass

Krystyna Nowicka / M10 (Martien Verheyden)

Mixing gold and silver can sometimes lead to, well, mixed results (to my eye, at least). These pieces, however, blend the two metals elegantly and organically. Rings above by Scotland's Krystyna Nowicka. (I've been keeping an eye on her site for over two years and it seems to have some database issues that aren't going away, so please note that you might not be able to view much of the collection online.)

Bonus link:
Here's a clean, minimal take on a two-tone ring from the Netherlands' Martien Verheyden, aka M10 Jewelry & Design ("10" being "tien" in Dutch).

Even more jewellery:

• Louise Parry (UK) - contemporary twotone


• Thinknow (Seattle) - geometric wood


• Camila Sarpi (Brazil) - metal & gems


• Micha Yehieli (Israel) - matte gold


• Jennifer Zeuner (New Jersey) - beads & charms

Rusty Thought (Ryo Katori) / Isis (Darren Simonian)

Welcome to day two of "Japanese Jewellers Who Love Pirates." Today, we have Ryo Katori of Tokyo's Rusty Thought, who uses techniques such as "shippo-yaki" (cloisonné enamel) and "ohaguro" burning (which creates a black rust effect on iron) to create eye-catching jewellery meant to improve with time.

Bonus link: after all these skulls and talk of pirates, I guess a skull dressed as a pirate is only natural. Check out Skull Jewelry by Isis (California's Darren Simonian, who also makes guitar rings).

Even more jewellery:

• Jamie's Pirate Jewelry (Massachusetts) - skulls & crosses


• Katrin Spranger (Germany) - organic & sculptural


• Ingrid Trilk (Sweden) - contemporary metal


• Stuart Moore (New York) - diamond rings


• Ute Sanne (UK) - gold & gems

Arca (Haruka Asano) / Lacey Waddell

I really dig the piratey yet dainty aesthetic of these rings from Japanese jeweller Haruka Asano, aka Arca.

Did I mention she lives and works in Mexico? Above, "Milagro" rings from her online shop Panchita, which she shares with a few other Mexican artists. Lucha libre masks also available!

Bonus link:
For more pieces inspired by Mexico, see San Diego's Lacey Waddell; pictured is a skull ring from her "Dia de los Muertos" collection.

Even more jewellery:

• DFC (Mexico) - babies & pills


• Katherine Sturgis (New York) - chains & silk


• Sploosh by Syo Nakabayashi (Japan) - gothic silver


• Mawi (UK) - bold & glitzy


• Nectar by Rachel Vanatta (Florida) - metal & stones

MIRROR / Je M'aime / David Rasnick

I wonder if The Bangles ever considered calling themselves "The Rings." (Six of one vaguely onomatopoeic circular jewellery item, half-dozen of the other?) If they had, Japan's MIRROR would've been morally obligated to name this ring "Walk Like an Egyptian." As it stands, it's the "Eye Am Not Alone" between-fingers double pyramid ring. AND IT'S WATCHING YOU.

Above, a more subtle take on the pyramid, also by all-caps aficionados MIRROR.

Not to be outdone in the field of Egyptian-themed double rings is New York's Je M'aime, with this spectacular "Sphinxxx" in 24k gold vermeil.

Bonus link:
For all sorts of sculptural rings, from cute dogs to T-rex skulls to King Tut (pictured here), check out California's David Rasnick.

Even more jewellery:

• Bark Jewels by Miwako Yoshioka (UK) - nostalgic gold


• Hila Welner (Israel) - ornate enamel


• Tomoko Tokuda (Italy) - clock parts


• Jay Nielsen (Minnesota) - metal & gems


• Daniel & Viera Brunovsky (Slovakia) - sculptural silver

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