Three rings, in that order

Les Trois Bagues are three rings in solid 18ct gold: an emerald cabochon, a ruby cabochon and a band of seed pearls. They are made to be stacked, and they are made to be stacked in that order, emerald on top and pearls at the base. People ask why. This is the answer.

The emerald

The emerald sits on top, where everyone sees it first. It is the oldest stone in the Sabelle family. Madame Bleu's grandmother wore a single emerald cabochon on her right hand for fifty years and never once took it off, even to garden.

Ours is 1.4 carats, cut as an oval cabochon so the light seems to sit inside the stone. The band is hammered by hand and is the widest of the three, at 6 mm. It also comes on its own, as the Cabochon Émeraude, for anyone who would like to start a stack slowly.

The ruby

The ruby comes second. It is the colour of the house: Laque, the lacquer red of our boxes and our wax. At 1.2 carats it is a little smaller than the emerald, and its setting is a touch lower. The two stones meet at the shoulder and never knock face to face.

The pearls

The pearls sit at the base, closest to the hand. Twenty-one seed pearls are set by hand in a narrow 4 mm band. It is the slimmest ring of the three, so it holds the stack in place and stops it turning on the finger.

Across a dinner table the pearls catch the candlelight from below. The emerald and the ruby hold their colour above them. From a few feet away the whole stack looks lit from within.

Made for one hand

Each set is cast and finished by hand, and the three bands are sized together. Because they are worn as a stack, we suggest going up half a size. Our Guide des Tailles explains how to measure at home.

The inside of each band can be engraved with up to six characters, at no charge. Some people engrave three initials, one in each ring. Others split a date across all three, so it only reads when the rings are in order. That is our favourite reason of all to keep them that way.

Les Trois Bagues come in yellow, rose and white gold, and arrive in a lacquer-red ring box lined in bottle-green velvet. See Les Trois Bagues, or book a viewing to try them on in the salon.

Maison Sabelle is a concept store by Neat Digital.