Rukhsar - Lapis Lazuli Silver Ring

From the Mehr collection by Orah Jewels and Crafts, Rukhsar centers a pear drop lapis lazuli from Afghanistan in a sterling silver setting that holds the stone at its widest point and lets the tapered end read freely above the band. The pear drop form is not a common cut for lapis lazuli, which is typically shaped into rounds or ovals. Rukhsar uses it because the form draws attention to the color and depth of the stone in a different way: the tapered end concentrates the blue, and the broader shoulder shows the full richness of the material.

Lapis lazuli from Badakhshan, Afghanistan is extracted from one of the world's oldest continuously worked gemstone deposits, a source that has supplied the stone without interruption for over six thousand years. The blue is produced by lazurite, a mineral belonging to the sodalite group that forms under specific metamorphic conditions and is responsible for the particular quality of ultramarine that no synthetic material has entirely reproduced. The pear drop stone in Rukhsar is selected for a consistent, saturated face with the characteristic pyrite inclusions present as fine gold detail across the deep blue. The stone is shaped and finished at the Orah Jewels lapidary facility in Lahore, which gives the team direct control over how the form reads in the final setting.

The silver band is proportioned to give the pear drop room to register as the primary element of the ring. The setting holds the stone at the shoulder without a full bezel, keeping the form visible from the side as well as the face. Rukhsar wears as a considered, elegant piece. It reads clearly from a distance and holds detail on close inspection. US 8.5. One ring.

Stone: Natural Lapis Lazuli, pear drop (Badakhshan, Afghanistan)
Metal: Sterling Silver
Size: US 8.5