Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Ring Set

1971 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Wendy Ramshaw is a leading and internationally renowned artist jeweller, who never ceases to experiment with a diverse range of materials and new technologies. Artistically always ahead of her time, her designs are distinctive and innovative. She first trained in illustration and textile design. Her early jewellery, made in the early 1960s with her husband David Watkins, used screen-printed acrylic and paper.

In about 1970 she turned to working in silver and gold, rapidly establishing a distinctive minimalist style influenced by modernism and industrial design. Its linear purity and decisive blocks of colour, along with the in-built versatility of her work, gained her the Council of Industrial Design Award in 1972.

The ring sets have become her trademark and exemplify two new concepts. The wearer is involved in the design process and also has ultimate choice in how to combine the individual elements of the ring on the hand. In its complete state and mounted on a decorative stand, the ring becomes a sculptural object.

Her early ring sets or so-called 'pillar rings' with spire-shaped bezels are inspired by the Space Age and urban developments of the late sixties in Britain. The gemstones and their compositions reflect elements of Constructivism.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Ring
  • Ring
  • Ring
Materials and techniques
Gold, enamel, garnet and carnelian
Brief description
Set of three enamelled and gem-set gold rings mounted on an acrylic stand, by Wendy Ramshaw, 1971.
Physical description
Set of three rings, the tall bezels of each one decorated with parallel bands of orange or red enamel and with a cabochon stone set into the top. Held on a cylindrical mount of turned acrylic.
Dimensions
  • Maximum height: 4.7cm
Marks and inscriptions
'WR' in an oval, London hallmarks for 1971-2 (on each ring)
Object history
Historical significance: From the collection that won the Council of Industrial Design award in 1972
Summary
Wendy Ramshaw is a leading and internationally renowned artist jeweller, who never ceases to experiment with a diverse range of materials and new technologies. Artistically always ahead of her time, her designs are distinctive and innovative. She first trained in illustration and textile design. Her early jewellery, made in the early 1960s with her husband David Watkins, used screen-printed acrylic and paper.

In about 1970 she turned to working in silver and gold, rapidly establishing a distinctive minimalist style influenced by modernism and industrial design. Its linear purity and decisive blocks of colour, along with the in-built versatility of her work, gained her the Council of Industrial Design Award in 1972.

The ring sets have become her trademark and exemplify two new concepts. The wearer is involved in the design process and also has ultimate choice in how to combine the individual elements of the ring on the hand. In its complete state and mounted on a decorative stand, the ring becomes a sculptural object.

Her early ring sets or so-called 'pillar rings' with spire-shaped bezels are inspired by the Space Age and urban developments of the late sixties in Britain. The gemstones and their compositions reflect elements of Constructivism.
Collection
Accession number
M.34 to B-1982

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Record createdApril 16, 2008
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