Peacock Ring with Oval Stone

A peacock stands in relief on one side of this ring, body turned and head lowered, its crest and the fine lines of its folded tail picked out in the metal. Beside it, set so the two read as one composition rather than as a motif plus a stone, sits a single large oval cabochon.

Pairing a figure with a stone rather than centring the stone is an old and rather sophisticated arrangement. A centred stone makes the metalwork a frame; placing the bird alongside makes them equal, so the eye moves between the two instead of resting on one. It also means the ring is asymmetric, which is unusual here and is what gives it a slightly modern feel despite an entirely traditional motif.

Styling it

The peacock carries more meaning in Indian ornament than any other bird. It is Saraswati's companion and Kartikeya's mount, it stands for the monsoon because it dances before rain, and it is the national bird. In jewellery it is shorthand for grace, and it is one of the few motifs that is equally at home on a bridal piece and on something worn on an ordinary day.

Materials used

A word on what this style actually is. Kundan is the technique of setting a stone without claws: the stone is laid into a recess and then strips of pure, very soft gold are pressed in around it until the metal grips it. It is the oldest setting method in India, it predates the use of prongs by centuries, and it is why Mughal-period jewellery has that characteristic flat gold rim around every stone. What you are buying here is the look of that technique rendered in plated brass with glass and cubic zirconia, which is what the whole Indian imitation-jewellery trade is built on.

Which colours are stocked

Three colourways are stocked, and each changes the oval cabochon: Purple, Peach and Sky Blue. There is one pair of each, so the colour that suits you is worth taking when it is there. Sky Blue is the one in the main photograph and the closest to a turquoise.

The piece is brass with a gold-tone plating. It is not gold and is not sold as gold — what it gives you is the warm colour and the weight of a much more expensive ring, in something you can wear to a wedding without thinking about it, and replace without regret if it is lost.

How big it is

This ring is adjustable. The band is not a closed circle — it is a tapered strip coiled so the two ends overlap behind the finger, and you open or close it by a few millimetres with your fingers. In practice that covers most adult sizes, roughly a UK J to a UK S, which is why almost all Indian fashion rings are made this way: nobody has to know their ring size, and the same ring still fits when knuckles swell in summer.

What you are looking at

Adjust it off the finger, not on it, and move it gradually. Opening and closing the same band repeatedly is what eventually tires the metal, so set it once to your finger and leave it there.

It is a medium-large ring that sits reasonably close to the finger — the peacock is worked in relief rather than standing out in the round, so it is less of a snag risk than it looks. Wear it on the index or middle finger, alone.

Care and storage

Rings take more punishment than any other piece of jewellery because hands do the work. The things that actually shorten a plated ring's life are water, soap, hand sanitiser, perfume and cooking oil, in roughly that order. The habit worth building is simple: the ring goes on last when you are dressing and comes off first when you are washing up, bathing, cooking or swimming.

Clean it with a dry soft cloth only. Never use a silver dip or a polish — a dip strips an oxidised finish completely and will take gold plating with it, and a polish wears plating thin at exactly the high points you want to keep bright. Store it dry and on its own, because rings scratch each other in a shared box.