Sterling Silver Turquoise Inlay Southwest Style Ring - Size 4.5

Sterling silver ring set with green turquoise inlaid as four small squares within a single square bezel at the center of the face. The stone segments sit flush against one another with fine dark matrix running through them, and the color shifts from pale sage to a deeper spring green across the four pieces. Surrounding the bezel is a scalloped silver border built from eight small open loops, two along each side, that frame the stone in a diamond shaped outline and let light through around the entire perimeter. The shank is narrow and flat, tapering slightly as it meets the head.

The scale is what makes this one work. It is a small ring with a lot of structure packed into the face, and the open loop border reads as lace at a distance while the inlay holds the eye up close. Southwest style silverwork like this relies on the contrast between darkened recesses and bright polished silver, and the shadow inside each loop does exactly that against the green of the stone. The four part inlay is a more labor intensive approach than setting a single cut stone, since each segment has to be shaped and fitted individually.

Ring size 4.5. The slim shank and low profile head keep it comfortable for stacking or everyday wear, and it arrives packaged and ready to gift or add to your collection.

Details:
Metal: Sterling Silver
Stone: Turquoise
Setting Style: Inlay
Design: Southwest Style
Ring Size: 4.5
Condition: Excellent estate condition

Fun Facts:
Turquoise takes its name from the French pierre turquoise meaning Turkish stone, a misnomer that stuck because the material reached European markets through Turkish trade routes despite being mined in Persia.
The green cast in turquoise like this comes from iron replacing some of the copper in the mineral structure, with copper rich deposits producing the sky blues and iron rich ones producing greens.