POISON RINGS: THE HISTORY BEHIND BORGIA
Keeping someone's memory inside a piece of jewellery is a tradition that dates back centuries. During the Renaissance, Locket Rings were used as small secret chests in which to preserve something belonging to a loved one.
However, their history begins much earlier and is shrouded in a certain mystery. Originally known as Poison Rings because of their small hidden compartments, these rings have fueled stories about poisons and lethal substances for centuries. Although they were not always used for such dark purposes, their design allowed small objects or substances to be hidden and carried, making them jewellery that was as functional as it was enigmatic.
Their origins date back to ancient India, where these rings were used to carry small personal objects, sometimes replacing the pouches worn around the neck. Over time, their use spread to Europe and they took on new meanings.
During the Middle Ages, for example, these compartment rings took on a deeply spiritual character. Turned into small reliquaries, they could hold fragments associated with saints, such as hair, bones, or teeth, which were worn as a form of divine protection against illness and other dangers.
But it was during the Renaissance that these rings acquired their most romantic and sentimental aspect. This piece of jewellery ceased to be merely a place to hide or protect things and began to become a space for remembrance. Known then as Locket Rings, they held small portraits, solid perfume, or locks of hair from a loved one inside.
Thus, the ring became a kind of reliquary of love: a jewel whose true meaning remained hidden from everyone except the person who wore it. Opening it meant discovering something deeply personal; closing it meant keeping that memory close once again.
In an era when a photograph, a letter, or even a lock of hair could be one of the few physical bonds with an absent person, these Renaissance sentimental jewels symbolically kept those who were far away close. The value of the piece lay not only in its materials or ornamentation, but in the invisible thing it guarded.
The Borgia ring from the Love collection is inspired by this historical tradition. Its design revives the secret compartment of ancient Locket Rings, but inside it conceals a small red heart: a contemporary symbol of what these jewels have protected in secret for centuries.
Because some pieces of jewellery are meant to be displayed, while others keep safe what we want to preserve forever. And you, what would you keep?
