Inspired by the recent Canterbury Medieval Pageant, arranged by VisitCanterbury, we have crafted a new piece using techniques and processes that would have been familiar to our medieval forefathers.
We decided to design a ring based on a Medieval artefact that was discovered buried in Wittersham, Kent.
Initially, a wax model of the ring was created, which was then cast into silver.
The cast was used to create impressions of each half of the ring on to a cuttlefish. These creatures wash up on the beaches of the seaside towns surrounding Canterbury, where fishing has been an industry since Roman times.
After refining the impressions and adding detail, the cuttlefish were bound together to create a mould and molten gold was poured-in to bring the ring to life.
Using artisan techniques, passed down over centuries, the ring was worked at the bench, creating the setting for the pretty, hexagonal sapphire.
Finally, the ring was burnished and finished.
The completed piece pays homage to the original find and in the very making represents many of the time-honoured techniques we still practice at Thyssen today.
The ring is now on sale in our Canterbury shop.