My ‘Lenticular Zöllner’ ring (pictured) stems from my fascination with a ring in the in the Alice and Louis Koch Collection of finger rings in Swiss National Museum. The ring displayed there resonates with me personally as it reflects what I am often exploring, which is the skill of creating the unexpected, or giving an added dimension to a piece which otherwise appears very simple. The ring referred to is the Gold ‘Illusion Ring’ (c.1860) and is based on the illusion described by the German astrophysicist Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner. It has an engraved continuous pattern around the curvature that creates an illusion which makes the parallel edges of the ring appear squint and the pattern taper an effect which in reality is not possible but is endlessly intriguing.

In 2018 my ‘Lenticular Zöllner’ ring was bought for Alice and Louis Koch Collection and will go on permanent display in Zurich at Swiss National Museum. Arnoldsch Art Publishers will also be publishing an new book cataloguing the collection. "One of the world’s largest and most significant collections of rings (over 2,500), illustrating the history of finger rings over a period of 4,000 years. This is a uniquely diverse collection which serves as a valuable historical reference and is on permanent loan to the Swiss National Museum. It represents the long history of finger rings, beginning in ancient Egypt, up through ancient Rome, the Middle Ages and Modernity including the 21st century. The collection impressively portrays this area of jewellery-making, from its earliest beginnings right up to the present day.”