Wright & Teague
Octet Ring
circa 2015
Gently hewn with what easily could have been a minuscule hammer (and handled by an equally minuscule Gnome), the mottled skin of this ocular octet breathes with its own kind of fire. Seemingly Greek in inspiration, its two-fold halo of winking, luminescent jewels gravitates within itself with a tightly-bound energy not unlike that formed between eight siblings, each with a defining character and each with an undeniable need to occasionally prove and outshine the others. Small but prominent, the ring’s every jewel smiles with its own faceted charming confidence, unfazed by the similar attempts of the flanking others to attract if not more praise and attention. Between the ring’s body and its variegated face there is also a particular chemistry that only the medium of gold, whether gilt or pure, can enhance so uniquely and beautifully, making a ring such as this a contemporary art form as well as an ageless testament containing the blood-thirsty, awe-inspiring history behind the discovery of and the world’s ensuing desire for gold. And with the additional fact that the ring’s makers are related to the actress who embodies J.K. Rowling’s wonderful flame-haired character, Ginny Weasley, there unravels a sense of further (albeit quirky) proof that there is indeed a strange kind of fire coursing the veins of this ring. Though whether it is that of the Weasleys’ freckled and fiercely warm-blooded bond as a family, or that of the far-more disconcerting Fiendfyre, its true source remains a mystery.
