Rings are the great markers of time, celebrating many of life’s most poignant moments—love and marriage, rites of passage like graduations, bar mitzvahs, and retirement, bonds of friendship. A beautiful ring is often the first thing someone notices about us. We dress our digits in high style, embellishing our most expressive and dynamic body part, the hands, for the whole world to see. It is not surprising then that the ring has been chosen to star in this superb ‘coffee table' style book simply titled, “1000 Rings” and sub-titled, “Inspiring Ornaments for the Hand” edited by Marthe Le Van.

“1000 Rings” displays 1000 rings in lavish photos and includes intricate details of the exciting materials used in their creation. Thoughtful commentary throughout by the artists weave an important story about the process of creation. While some rings are magnificent and awe-inspiring, others are fun and more than a little over the top. They are all exceptional works of art created by the best contemporary jewelers, and vividly represent each artist’s relationship to their craft while reflecting the impact rings as jewelry have made on society. Among the prestigious artisans represented are Arline M. Fisch, Michael Zobel, Katja Prins, Paul Preston, and Bruce Metcalf.

Rings are truly compelling, especially in this book which is as extensive as one could imagine a tome about rings would ever be. Here we find rings, from the traditional to the extremely avant-garde, creating visual and textural contrast with hundreds of diverse elements such as gold in all its infinite varieties and colors, silver, platinum, copper, nickel, brass, precious metal clay, titanium, diamonds, porcelain, shells, pearls, tagua nut, feathers, a 100-year old wrought iron nail, Brazilian rosewood, steel springs, pebbles, shoe brush bristles, precious and semi-precious gemstones, pumice, meteorite, diamond and gemstone simulants like cubic zirconia and glass, rock crystal, enamel, plastic, sand, and more. Fabricated, stamped, hammered, forged, carved, constructed, hinged, riveted, machined, alloyed, soldered, etched, inlaid, die formed, filed, polished, poured, turned, milled, hand-knit, cut, tied, and cast, this collection is exotic, elegant, pure glamour and glitz—with more than a dash of humor. Big, bold, colorful, subtle, gutsy, strange, and sublime, here are 1000 rings that make a powerful and dramatic statement, indeed!

Artist Michael Zobel comments, “Through the connection of precious metals, stones, and unconventional materials, I create unique objects, which make the extraordinary wearable.” This statement perfectly describes every one of the 1000 rings in this book. Artist Reina Mia Brill gives us, “Giddey Up”, a double ring of such surprising exuberance and joy that it gleefully jumps off the page with movement and life. Brightly colored coated copper wire is hand knit into this playful animated piece. "Cosmic Connection” by Joe Reyes Apodaca, is a luscious sculpture in 14-karat gold featuring Australian opal, diamond brilliant, and meteorite. Tamara Clark’s “Starry Galaxy” features a sterling silver platform dotted with 18-karat gold balls, and a big star sapphire, all hand forged and hammered into an astronomer’s dream.

Functional jewelry or outrageous art, Ellen Cheek’s “Back to Basics” is a big wide cuff of a ring made in fine silver, sterling silver, and 18-karat gold to which is attached a 9B drawing pencil—very handy for jotting notes! K. Dana Kagrise created “Exodus” in response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The accompanying comments reveal how deeply affected the artist was by the photographs of people fleeing the city. The piece is fabricated from sterling silver, pumice, powder enamel, and plastic N-scale model train figures. For pet lovers or perhaps for those who would like something furry that did not need to be fed, Heather White has created “Circle Ring – Pet” a big soft, circular white puff of fur set onto a ring of gold and sterling silver. Another one is called, “Dog’s Faith” by Mecky van den Brink, and is an actual sculpture of a dog with collar and leash that sits obediently on one’s finger. One of the largest, yet hauntingly beautiful pieces is Seo Yoon Choi’s “Desire”. Created in 1999, this 106x16x19 cm ‘ring’ is fashioned in sterling silver, stainless steel, and a flowing arc of soft white feathers.

While some of the rings are pure art and not particularly wearable, at least to my mind, there are certainly a host of others that are elegant cutting-edge fashion and very wearable. Among my many favorites are Jaclyn Davidson’s “Zebra Ring”, a gorgeous 18-karat gold and black enamel zebra head and neck gracefully curled into a ring. Another is Lee Carper’s “Vortex Ring” a stunning 14-karat yellow gold floating setting holding a fantastic Tahitian black pearl described as hollow formed, forged, raised, shell formed, and fabricated. Junghyun Woo’s “Something Sweet” is another tempting piece for a sweet-toothed silver fan like me. This luscious ring is made entirely of sterling silver and has been die formed, etched, and fabricated to look like the most delicious chocolate with its square head drizzled with a traditional chocolate pattern—it even comes in it’s own sterling silver ring/chocolate box with an elegant design etched on top inset with an 18-karat gold ring/chocolate cup.

I really like this book for its brilliant concept, attractive presentation, and introduction by Robert W. Ebendorf, the Carol Brotnes Belk Distinguished Professor in the Department of Art at East Carolina University whose elequence captures one’s imagination and interest immediately. Professor Ebendorf juried this incredibly beautiful collection and his love and appreciation of art is tangible. Unlike many of the gargantuan coffee table books I remember from years ago, “1000 Rings” is a non-intrusive yet hefty soft-covered tablet of a book, 8” square and about 1-1/2” thick. It’s classy matte black cover comes alive with a large photo of Patty L. Cokus’ “Articulated Frusta: Ring #1, an exquisite spiral ring formed entirely of sterling silver that interestingly looks like brushed gold with an intriguing soft ice cream cone-type swirl on top.

Firmly anchored in the philosophy that jewelry is art, “1000 Rings” celebrates rings as the most important wearable art. Rings after all are miniature sculptures—compact platforms on which ring-makers display their art. Ultimately a grand celebration of creativity, “1000 Rings” is reminiscent of a fine art book and would make a wonderful gift for any ring enthusiast, jewelry lover, jewelry designer, or for anyone who collects books about contemporary art.