This 18-carat gold musical ring combines the arts of the jewelry designer,
the goldsmith, the engraver, the enameller, the stone setter, and the
first generation of musical box makers. Sitting atop a flared, adjustable
shank, the case that contains the mechanism is less than ¼” thick,
is decorated with patterns pressed into the gold from the reverse side—known
as “repoussé”—and further set with turquoise.
The scene depicts a music session in an elegant drawing room, replete
with a hanging oil lamp, a bird sitting on a three-legged music stand,
and a pet dog. When set into motion, the seated woman hand-cranks a “serinette”—an
organ used to train birds to sing melodies—and the man conducts
the tempo with his violin bow.
Since the ring was made in Geneva, it seems fitting that the tune the
ring plays is “Le Ranz des Vaches,” an ancient cow-herders’ song
that symbolizes the Swiss motherland. The makers, Piguet & Capt,
were in partnership from 1802 to 1811, and so the music holds added significance
as a song of resistance, as Geneva was then under occupation by France.
