This ring centres on a Roman emerald intaglio from the first century AD, carved with the image of Fortuna, goddess of fate and providence. Draped and serene, she holds the rudder and cornucopia, emblems of guidance and abundance, her calm presence offering reassurance in uncertain times.
The intaglio was created in an age when Fortuna’s presence touched every level of Roman life. Her cult united citizens most vividly during the Fors Fortuna, a midsummer festival along the Tiber. On that day, even the enslaved were free to join the revelry, rowing upriver to her temples in song and laughter, a brief moment when fortune seemed shared by all.
Her grandest sanctuary stood at Praeneste (modern Palestrina), where pilgrims sought her oracle through the casting of lots. To wear her likeness was to acknowledge the mystery of destiny — not to master it, but to live with its changeable nature.
The emerald, mined in Egypt’s Eastern Desert at Mons Smaragdus, was prized for its luminous green hue, believed to renew the spirit and sharpen perception. Pliny the Elder wrote that no colour was more restful to the eye.
The 18k rose gold setting follows ancient principles: a single band that flows into two ends, one bearing the ancient intaglio, the other its gold impression. At each junction, a small corded gold collar, a motif seen in Roman jewellery, anchors the settings and brings a tactile note of antiquity.
Together these elements create a dialogue between image and imprint, divine order and human experience. Designed as a pinkie ring, it preserves the intimacy of the ancient seal, a quiet reflection on balance, chance, and luck. In the life of its custodian, Fortuna continues her journey, gathering new meaning through the ring and the colour of the emerald.
"I chose my Fortuna ring to mark the end of my time on the board of a company in the tea business. Its emerald immediately reminded me of the green hills of the tea plantations, so it carries a very personal meaning for me."
