One block of Lucite. One exceptional jade. One ring, carved entirely by hand.
Created exclusively for the Help for Children Gala, this one-of-one ring began life as a solid block of clear Lucite.
I designed and hand-carved the piece around its centre stone: a beautiful 3.21ct certified Type A Fei Cui jade, set over a custom-made platinum plate. The result sits somewhere between fine jewellery and sculpture: precious, unexpected and completely unique.
Why Yu Yi 如意?
Yu Yi 如意 takes its name from a Cantonese expression associated with wishes fulfilled and things going as you hope: an auspicious wish for good fortune, happiness and for life to unfold as you wish.
Good luck, but make it jewellery.
Watch the ring being carved
Carved from a solid block
I start with a solid block of Lucite and carve away the material by hand, gradually finding the curves, proportions and final form of the piece.
Raw Lucite Block and Jade before carving
Rather than designing a ring and then finding a gemstone to fit it, I work the other way around. The form is developed around the individual stone, allowing the gemstone to dictate the proportions of the finished piece.
It is a slow, tactile process. The Lucite is cut, carved, shaped and polished by hand, and the small variations created along the way are part of what makes the finished ring individual. No two can ever be precisely alike.
The heart of the piece: 3.21ct Type A Fei Cui
At the centre is a 3.21ct certified Type A Fei Cui jade, individually selected for this piece for its beautiful green colour, translucency and presence.
Type A Fei Cui is natural jadeite that has not undergone chemical bleaching or polymer impregnation, preserving the natural structure and character of the material.
3.21ct certified Type A Fei Cui jade
The vivid green jade against almost invisible clear Lucite creates the illusion that the stone is floating above the finger.
Beneath the jade sits a custom-made platinum plate, a deliberately precious detail within the translucent ring. The platinum's highly polished surface reflects light back through the jade, giving the stone a beautiful luminosity and glow.
Platinum plate beneath the Jade
One of one
This particular ring was designed and created exclusively for Help for Children and donated to support its work protecting children from abuse.
The combination of hand carving and an individual natural gemstone means even if I wanted to make the same ring again, it would never be precisely identical. That individuality is fundamental to my hand-carved Lucite pieces: each begins with its own stone and develops its own form.
One block. One stone. One ring. One of one.
3.21ct certified Type A Fei Cui jade
· Hand-carved clear Lucite
· Custom platinum plate
· Designed and hand-carved by Anastasia Gardner, GIA Graduate Gemologist
· Created in Hong Kong
· One of one
The Lucite Ring Series
This ring is part of my exploration of hand-carved Lucite fine jewellery, bringing important diamonds and gemstones together with a material rarely associated with traditional fine jewellery.
Each piece starts with the stone. I then carve the Lucite individually by hand around it, creating sculptural forms that allow the gemstone to appear suspended within, or floating above, the ring.
Hand-carved collection of lucite and diamond and gemstone rings
Anastasia Gardner wearing her Hard Candy lucite and diamond ring
Explore our Hand-Carved Lucite Collection.