Bronze Tulip Teardrop Ring in Hammered Silver

Specs

Care

Dry polishing cloth only. No silver dip — it strips the oxidation and attacks the bronze. Bronze patina is normal and can be polished back.

Motif

Ottoman tulip with leaves and berries

Stone

None

Style

Teardrop statement ring

Finish

Hand-hammered and oxidised silver, bronze relief

Gender

Unisex

Origin

Handmade in Cappadocia, Turkey

Material

925 sterling silver with bronze tulip and rim

Shoulders

Pierced openwork, hammered

Face Shape

Teardrop / pear

Metal Purity

925 sterling silver

Accent Material

Solid bronze

Highlights

• Solid 925 sterling silver body and shoulders, nickel-free
• Bronze tulip in relief — stem, bloom, leaves, berries and a bronze bead at the point
• Bronze rim framing the teardrop face
• Hand-hammered silver ground, oxidised in the hollows and polished on the peaks
• Pierced openwork shoulders that cut the weight and balance the face
• Solid bronze, not plating — it patinas instead of wearing through
• Ottoman tulip motif, treated as a single stem rather than a repeating pattern
• Handmade in our Cappadocia workshop, Turkey — each piece slightly unique
• Arrives in a Sapheen gift box with a care card

Made by Sapheen

Description

A teardrop face in hammered sterling silver, oxidised so the hollows go dark, with a bronze tulip laid across it in relief — stem, opening bloom, two leaves, a cluster of berries, and a bronze bead at the point where the teardrop narrows. A bronze rim runs the whole way round the face and closes the composition. The silver ground is struck by hand before the tulip is set, so the flower sits on a surface that already has movement in it. That order matters: hammer marks made around a motif look like decoration, hammer marks made under it look like ground. The oxidation is then worked into the hollows and polished off the peaks, which is why the field behind the tulip reads as depth rather than as a flat dark plate. The tulip is the flower of Ottoman Istanbul, worked into tiles, textiles and stone across four centuries, and its Turkish name — lâle — was traditionally linked to the letters of the divine name, which is part of why it recurs so persistently in the decorative arts here. On this ring it is treated as a single stem rather than a repeating pattern, closer to the way it appears on a tombstone or a tile border than on printed cloth. The shoulders are pierced. Instead of a solid shank rising to the face, the silver opens into cut-out shapes on each side, hammered on the surface and darkened in the openings. This does two things: it drops a good deal of weight from a ring with a face this size, and it stops the piece from looking top-heavy where the band meets the teardrop. Two metals, two ways of ageing. The silver keeps its oxidised contrast and brightens on the raised marks with wear. The bronze tulip will deepen to a warmer, browner tone over the months — that patina is the reason for using solid bronze rather than a plated finish, and a bronze-safe polish brings it back to bright whenever you prefer it. Made by hand in our Cappadocia workshop. The hammering and the set of the tulip differ on every piece.