An
exquisite collection handmade by The Lord of the Rings principal
jeweller Jasmine Watson
As principal jeweller on The Lord of the Rings, working under costume designer Ngila Dickson, Jasmine Watson has shaped some of the most beloved jewellery pieces ever to appear on screen. For more than 30 years, her work has been shown in galleries across the globe, been honoured in the Ueno Royal Museum of Japan and been adorned by some of film’s most memorable characters, from the young heroes of Narnia to the worlds of Xena, Hercules and Mulan.
Now her uncompromising hand, trained over a lifetime, has returned to Middle-earth once more. For the Wētā Workshop Master Jeweller’s Collection, Jasmine has crafted three exquisite pieces: the Crown of Arwen™, the Ring of Aragorn™ and the Ring of Galadriel™. Each will be handmade in a limited edition of 25.
The aim is simple: to make each replica as it was, and as it should be. “These pieces I'm making now are the closest we can get to the originals, and in some cases, I'm using the same tools I used on the original pieces,” says Jasmine. “The only changes I've made are little improvements, and they come down to technique.”
To hold one is to hold the closest expression of the original that can exist.
An exquisite collection handmade by The Lord of the Rings principal jeweller Jasmine Watson
As principal jeweller on The Lord of the Rings, working under costume designer Ngila Dickson, Jasmine Watson has shaped some of the most beloved jewellery pieces ever to appear on screen. For more than 30 years, her work has been shown in galleries across the globe, been honoured in the Ueno Royal Museum of Japan and been adorned by some of film’s most memorable characters, from the young heroes of Narnia to the worlds of Xena, Hercules and Mulan.
Now her uncompromising hand, trained over a lifetime, has returned to Middle-earth once more. For the Wētā Workshop Master Jeweller’s Collection, Jasmine has crafted three exquisite pieces: the Crown of Arwen™, the Ring of Aragorn™ and the Ring of Galadriel™. Each will be handmade in a limited edition of 25.
The aim is simple: to make each replica as it was, and as it should be. “These pieces I'm making now are the closest we can get to the originals, and in some cases, I'm using the same tools I used on the original pieces,” says Jasmine. “The only changes I've made are little improvements, and they come down to technique.”
To hold one is to hold the closest expression of the original that can exist.
Crown of Arwen™
Sterling silver, with Swarovski Crystals and glass beads
Like butterflies of silver, the crown rested upon her brow with grace, woven by Elven hands with mythril shaped as though it were threads of starlight. It was set upon her in the hour of Aragorn’s crowning, but its meaning reached beyond the triumph of a king’s return. It was a symbol of choice, of love beyond the reckoning of time, filled with hope beneath fading stars.
This crown like no other is made entirely in sterling silver. As with many Elven pieces, the whiteness of the metal was a challenge in itself: in Middle-earth, mithril is described as silver, yet brighter and more beautiful than any earthly kind. To replicate this, a depletion plating process is used to bring a fine layer of pure silver to the surface, whiter than normal.
Fine wires trace the veins of each butterfly wing, a process based on Jasmine’s experience with traditional cloisonné technique. The wirework earns its place twice over, defining the detail and fencing each section of colour cleanly apart, which keeps the hues separate and lifts the stained-glass effect. The colour itself is a cold enamel, a lacquer varnish laid in by hand in the same way as the original, rather than the fired glass enamel of true cloisonné. The beading is done last, strands upon strands of glass seed beads threaded with faceted Swarovski crystals.
Ring of Aragorn™
Sterling silver, with 22kt Gold and a Tourmaline gemstone
A relic from before the First Age, it bore serpents intwined in a form both ancient and unbroken, the emerald between them carrying the memory of older days. Through long history it came at last to Aragorn, when his lineage was revealed, as a token of kingship restored. An oath and a promise, which not even time could erase.
The Ring of Aragorn begins in wax, and the engraving begins there too, the first detail cut before the piece is ever cast. From the wax it is taken to sterling silver, and then the work returns to it, the finest lines engraved into the metal after casting. To craft the golden flowers, each is cut from sheet silver and engraved by hand, cast in 22kt gold, then soldered into facets left in the band so they rest around the heads of the serpents. Between the snakes sits a tourmaline, the green heart the ring is built to hold.
Ring of Galadriel™
Rhodium-plated 10kt white gold, with a White Topaz gemstone
A star gleamed upon her hand, as though light itself had taken form and found rest there. Forged with the mastery of Celebrimbor, Nenya seemed less an object of the material plane and more a moment of the ethereal preserved. It was entrusted to Galadriel and kept within the safety of Lothlórien, whose unwithering beauty was but an echo of its deeper power.
A white topaz sits beneath a filigree of dragonflies, seen only in glimpses through the metal above it. The top that holds the stone is pierced from a sheet; the metal carved away until only the openwork remains, and the dragonflies are then hand engraved into that surface. The result is a ring that rewards a second look, its light shifting as the topaz catches and releases it through the metal.
Crown of Arwen™
Sterling silver, with Swarovski Crystals and glass beads
Like butterflies of silver, the crown rested upon her brow with grace, woven by Elven hands with mythril shaped as though it were threads of starlight. It was set upon her in the hour of Aragorn’s crowning, but its meaning reached beyond the triumph of a king’s return. It was a symbol of choice, of love beyond the reckoning of time, filled with hope beneath fading stars.
This crown like no other is made entirely in sterling silver. As with many Elven pieces, the whiteness of the metal was a challenge in itself: in Middle-earth, mithril is described as silver, yet brighter and more beautiful than any earthly kind. To replicate this, a depletion plating process is used to bring a fine layer of pure silver to the surface, whiter than normal.
Fine wires trace the veins of each butterfly wing, a process based on Jasmine’s experience with traditional cloisonné technique. The wirework earns its place twice over, defining the detail and fencing each section of colour cleanly apart, which keeps the hues separate and lifts the stained-glass effect. The colour itself is a cold enamel, a lacquer varnish laid in by hand in the same way as the original, rather than the fired glass enamel of true cloisonné. The beading is done last, strands upon strands of glass seed beads threaded with faceted Swarovski crystals.
Ring of Aragorn™
Sterling silver, with 22kt Gold and a Tourmaline gemstone
A relic from before the First Age, it bore serpents intwined in a form both ancient and unbroken, the emerald between them carrying the memory of older days. Through long history it came at last to Aragorn, when his lineage was revealed, as a token of kingship restored. An oath and a promise, which not even time could erase.
The Ring of Aragorn begins in wax, and the engraving begins there too, the first detail cut before the piece is ever cast. From the wax it is taken to sterling silver, and then the work returns to it, the finest lines engraved into the metal after casting. To craft the golden flowers, each is cut from sheet silver and engraved by hand, cast in 22kt gold, then soldered into facets left in the band so they rest around the heads of the serpents. Between the snakes sits a tourmaline, the green heart the ring is built to hold.
Ring of Galadriel™
Rhodium-plated 10kt white gold, with a White Topaz gemstone
A star gleamed upon her hand, as though light itself had taken form and found rest there. Forged with the mastery of Celebrimbor, Nenya seemed less an object of the material plane and more a moment of the ethereal preserved. It was entrusted to Galadriel and kept within the safety of Lothlórien, whose unwithering beauty was but an echo of its deeper power.
A white topaz sits beneath a filigree of dragonflies, seen only in glimpses through the metal above it. The top that holds the stone is pierced from a sheet; the metal carved away until only the openwork remains, and the dragonflies are then hand engraved into that surface. The result is a ring that rewards a second look, its light shifting as the topaz catches and releases it through the metal.
Related projects
The Masters Collection
Master Swordsmith’s Collection
Lore Olympus
Consumer products • Design • Manufacture • Statues • Vinyl figures
Related projects
The Masters Collection
Master Swordsmith’s Collection
Lore Olympus
Consumer products • Design • Manufacture • Statues • Vinyl figures