Venus Nerissa Ring

A Tides of Tethys handcrafted one-of-a-kind sterling silver ring set with a 7 × 5 mm aquamarine, a 5 mm freshwater pearl, and five small London blue topaz. Size 7. Named for Nerissa, a daughter of the sea, this one-of-a-kind ring evokes a small luminous reef where pearl and gemstone gather together. I first hand sculpted the ring in jeweller’s wax to resemble coral accretion in shallow water. At one side rests a pale 7 × 5 mm aquamarine, and on the other a 5 mm freshwater pearl, scattered around them are five small London blue topaz. The original wax carving was then cast in solid sterling silver, and each gemstone hand set in a way that preserves the organic movement of the sculpted form. Aquamarine belongs to the beryl family, named in Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy among the gemstones belonging to Venus, while pearls are among her most ancient and sacred stones. In lapidary lore pearls are held to be inherently talismanic, born from the union of sea and heaven, and understood to receive Venus’s virtue in the very act of their generation. Aquamarine belongs to the beryl family, named in Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy among the gemstones belonging to Venus, while pearls are among her most ancient and sacred stones. In lapidary lore pearls are held to be inherently talismanic, born from the union of sea and heaven, and understood to receive Venus’s virtue in the very act of their generation.