Anjali

• Sterling silver, set with marcasite in concentric rings
• Sourced in jaipur, 2016
• Weight - 18g the pair
• Drop - 5cm

Found in Jaipur, where this kind of setting has adorned women for centuries, from cleopatra to queen victoria. What's called 'marcasite' in jewellery is actually cut pyrite, small stones faceted and set close together for a moody, antique sparkle. It doesn't shine like a diamond. It glints, silver-grey and metallic, like something dug up rather than manufactured. Each ring cut and set by hand, one inside the other, so the whole piece seems to spiral in on itself. flip them over and the back is punched clean through hundreds of tiny holes, so light comes through the metal as much as it bounces off it.

Silver is believed in vedic tradition to carry the cooling energy of the moon, associated with intuition and calm. Pyrite, the stone underneath the marcasite, is said to sharpen discernment, the ability to see past the surface of things and trust your own reading on them. fitting, for a stone that's spent three centuries being mistaken for something else.

Wear them for the days you want to be looked at twice. hair back, nothing else competing.

Avoid perfume and water on the marcasite, it oxidises with moisture. store flat, away from other pieces so the settings don't catch. Polish with a soft cloth only.