Ladies and Gentlemen. I would like to take this opportunity to
introduce you to Monsieur Rene Lalique. Monsieur Lalique. these are
my readers of Tidbits. Quite a decent group. even if I must say so
myself. The fact is. I happen to be dating one of them. Eat your
hearts out folks. I ain’t sayin’ nuthin’. I do hope you will all soon
get to know each other and become fast friends. In the interim.
whilst I wait for the bonding magic to occur–wait–did I say magic?
How coincidental.
Happenstance is indeed a wonderful thing. So. whilst I wait for the
bonding magic to occur. I will tell you about Monsieur Lalique and a
most wondrous ring he created. and at the same time … purely by
co-incidence. I will tell you about a magical ring. It is amazing–is
it not–how fortune will sometimes smile upon the unsuspecting and
bestow upon him her favors of knowledge.
First the ring. It is an Art Nouveau Ring. It is called “The
Betrothal - To Have & To Hold”. It was created sometime around 1904
in France. It is gold. It is enameled. It holds a triangular cushion
shaped peridot weighing approximately 1 carat. It is flanked by two
birds which I am guessing are Ravens. And why not. The Raven is
considered the great shape shifter. which ties in to the next
paragraph. He is creative magic personified. Inside the ring the
inscription reads, of course: LALIQUE.
And now. presto-gazatz. a bit a magic lore as regards rings. Not as
big a segue as one might think considering the Ravens. Sadly … it
is said. the fading of the belief in magic in our civilization
has–as a side consequence–the result of losing basic elements of
knowledge which once existed in the common man. It is not money that
makes the world tick. it is magic. Of the many rings around with
magical properties. my favorite–for the curious amongst you–is the
ring of invisibility.
in 1860. At sixteen years of age he began working for a Jeweler name
Louis Aucoc. He then moved to London when he was eighteen. He
returned to Paris when he was twenty and by the age of twenty two he
was designing for Boucheron and Cartier among others. Over 140 of his
pieces today reside in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon.
Magical Ring: One might presuppose–based on its title–that the Ring
of Invisibility grants the wearer the power of becoming invisible.
Ah. if that were the end of it then the ring would be nothing more
than a fast evanescing archive of ancient necromancy heading for
extinction. Nay nay dear reader. While this magical ring can indeed
hide what it visible. it also has the power to make visible that
which is hidden. A Lydian shepherd once found one called the Gyges
ring. Thanks to its properties he seduced a queen … slew a king.
and took over a throne. Alas. we can’t do that today. We don’t
believe in it. What a loss for humanity.
worldwide as the most important art-nouveau designer of his time. He
died in 1945 at the age of eighty five. Clearly. for those of you who
may occasionally doubt it. it is an aid to longevity to be in our
business. Three cheers for the jewelry people of the world. Hip
hip…
So now. the moment arrives. Who wants to see a picture of that ring?
Take it easy. It’s waiting for you. You know where. Go. Run. No
stopping for quickies. Look. Enjoy. Home page.
http://www.tyler-adam.com. Scroll down. Left side. [Tidbits]. Click.
And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark