Arthur King (American, 1921–1991), Double Ring, late 1960s, gold, citrine, pearl, quartz, diamonds

Audio Description

This double ring was made in the late 1960s by American jeweler Arthur King, who lived from 1921–1991.

Made for two adjacent fingers, this ring has two separate bands. The top has a faceted, pale yellow citrine, an opalescent oblong pearl, and a cabochon piece of dark pink quartz held by ‘fingers’ of yellow gold. Small, faceted diamonds are randomly interspersed with the gems.

Label Copy

This double ring was made in the late 1960s by American jeweler Arthur King, who lived from 1921–1991.

This ring has bands that were meant to be worn on two fingers simultaneously. Although newspaper reporters and advertisements at the time often expressed surprise at this form, King was certainly not the first to create such a ring. Many jewelers, including Roger Lucas, whose work is also in this exhibition, used the form. One can easily see why King chose to create this ring with a double band. The expanse of the setting warrants two fingers to hold it steady. Big, in this era, was always better.

King has included a jumble of miscellaneous stones—a citrine, a pearl, quartz and, a smattering of small diamonds. Each a different color and each treated differently: the citrine is faceted, the quartz is a rounded cabochon, the baroque pearl is naturally iridescent, and the diamonds are small. The gems are caught in the clutches of King’s contorted gold.

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