Ball-bearings ingeniously placed inside the bands of this ring allow the tiny figures of the police officers and their dog to engage in an endless pursuit of the burglar. The wearer can move the figures at will and choose for herself how the chase will go. The title 'Big Crime Ring' extends the joke.

Barbara Walter explained that her works 'can best be described as illustrations of puns and tongue twisters presented in metal. They are literal and visual translations of play on words in the third dimension. Duality of meaning in puns and attraction of moveable parts are the mainstay of my ideas. The emphasis of my works is on playful, whimsical humour. Although the pieces may be worn, they are intended to be about jewelry instead of function as jewelry. They have been pushed beyond the limitations of wearable jewelry. The success of the pieces does not depend on how well they function, but on how well they communicate the concept of the pun as small objects.'

Barbara Walter was born in Clarendon Hills, Illinois in 1952 and studied jewellery and metalwork at the Northern Illinois University. She subsequently became Director and Associate Dean at the School of Art and Design, Syracuse University.