Sea inspired rings from St Lucia, and why the ocean has been honoured as a mother from Nigeria to Brazil
Why wear the ocean on your hand?
Some people need to see the sea to feel right. If that’s you, a ring is the closest you can keep it.
A ring sits in your eyeline all day. Every cup you lift, every message you type, there it is. That’s why ocean rings work better than any other ocean jewellery: you don’t have to look in a mirror to be reminded.
Anitanja Lawaetz designs her rings in St Lucia, an island where you’re never far from the water. Artisans in Bali make each one by hand, and every ring ships from the UK. Her ocean and coral collection is full of shapes the sea made first: pebbles, reefs, ripples.
What makes a ring an ocean ring?
A ring is an ocean ring when its shape or texture comes from the sea, such as a pebble worn smooth, a ripple on sand, a coral head or a shell.
Should an ocean ring be polished or textured?
An ocean ring should usually be textured rather than mirror polished, because texture catches light the way water does and hides the scratches of everyday life. Polished bands look perfect for a week.
Which ocean rings does Anitanja Lawaetz make?
Anitanja Lawaetz makes the pebble cluster ring, her most sculptural ocean inspired ring, and the cocoa pod stacking rings, which were photographed on a St Lucia beach holding driftwood and stack like shells along a tideline.
Is the pebble cluster ring comfortable every day?
The pebble cluster ring is comfortable every day for most people, because the forms are rounded rather than sharp. It does sit higher than a plain band, so take it off for gardening and the gym.
Are the cocoa pod stacking rings beach rings?
The cocoa pod stacking rings belong to the cocoa collection, but they’re as much beach rings as anything here. Stacked, the ridged pods line up like shells on wet sand.
Why does being near the sea make people feel better?
Being near the sea makes people feel better, according to a growing body of research on what scientists call blue space: studies led from the University of Exeter, among others, have linked living near the coast and spending time by water with better reported health and wellbeing.
The researchers are careful about cause and effect, and so am I. But nobody who grew up near the sea needs a study to tell them. The sound, the horizon, the salt on your skin. Your nervous system knows.
A ring can’t give you the sea. It can remind you to go back to it.
Why is the ocean honoured as a mother?
The ocean is honoured as a mother because, in the Yoruba religion of West Africa, the waters belong to Yemọja, the great mother spirit, and her worship crossed the Atlantic with the people who carried it.
Who are Yemayá and Iemanjá?
Yemayá and Iemanjá are Yemọja’s names in the Americas: Yemayá in Cuban Santería, and Iemanjá in Brazil, where crowds still carry flowers and small boats of offerings into the sea. She appears in Haitian Vodou too.
Who is Mami Wata?
Mami Wata is a water spirit honoured across West and Central Africa and the Caribbean, a tradition of her own rather than another name for Yemọja, often linked with beauty, healing and wealth.
These are living faiths, and a ring doesn’t make anyone part of them. What I take from them is the idea underneath: the sea as a source of life and strength. Wearing the ocean is a reminder of where you go to get your strength back.
How do you choose ocean rings that fit?
You choose ocean rings that fit by knowing your UK ring size, which runs in letters from A to Z, and going half a size up for wide or textured bands.
Measure at the end of the day, when your fingers are warmest. If you’re between sizes, ask before you order. For sizing and stacking in more depth, read nature inspired rings, and for the bigger question, nature inspired engagement rings.
Can you wear ocean rings at the beach?
You can wear ocean rings at the beach but not in the sea, because salt water, chlorine and sun cream all dull metal and plating over time.
- Rings off before swimming.
- Sun cream on, let it sink in, rings back on.
- Rinse in fresh water and dry gently if salt gets on them.
- Pouch, not loose in the beach bag.
What goes with an ocean ring?
An ocean ring goes best with one other ocean piece, such as the coral lace earrings or the island station necklace, so the theme reads as deliberate. Everything is in the ocean and coral collection, and the reef story is in coral inspired jewellery.
So which piece would I choose first?
The pebble cluster ring. It’s the one ring here that looks like you found it on the shore. Find your size and shop the rings.
Thanks for reading! @queenofvitality
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