Flowers were a fashionable theme in jewellery from about 1750 to 1800. Intricate and colourful rings were known as giardinetti ('little garden') or in England, as 'flowerpot'. They had tiny blossoms set with an assortment of precious stones, asymmetrically arranged in a basket, vase or pot. They are characteristic of the light, delicate and sometimes asymmetric rococo style which was fashionable in Europe. The stones could be a mixture of coloured stones to simulate the shades of the flowers or just one stone. It was usual for diamonds to be set in silver at this date so that that the whiteness of the metal enhanced the diamond. The London jeweller George Wickes sold flowerpot rings in 1736 and in 1778, Harrache was recorded as selling ‘a fancy flower basket ring with diamonds, rubies and sapphires’.