Fire and Stones
Austy Lee draws inspiration for his contemporary creations from Hinduism’s fire deity
Agni, the Hindu god of fire, is depicted in illustrations and ancient Vedic texts as a flaminghaired, dual-headed deity on horseback. He makes for an unusual, though not altogether surprising, source of inspiration for Hong Kong-based high jewellery designer Austy Lee.
Lee’s fascination with cultures near and far has seen his eponymous brand create pieces influenced by everything from ancient Greek mythology to Imperial Japanese seals. And for two pieces in The Ikhor collection, Lee turned to Agni.
Agni is celebrated as the voice of the gods and protector of humankind, second in stature and ranking only to Indra, the king of the gods. In Vedic literature, the term “agni” is also used in reference to fire as one of five ancient elements that makes up our material existence.
The Agni Shield ring is an 18-karat rose gold piece set with rubellite. A series of angel skin coral beads encircles the ring, which is finished with unheated Mozambican rubies, pink sapphires and pink diamonds.
The 18-karat white gold Agni Shield drop earrings feature pale, angel skin coral stones wrapped with rubies and white diamonds and a deeper-hued, teardropshaped coral pendant.
The remaining pieces in
The Ikhor collection boast bold arrangements of deeply coloured gemstones. The Agni designs are comparatively modest, thanks to the addition of the angel skin coral. A naturally occurring, much lighter-coloured variant of satsuma coral, the angel skin variety provides a delicate balance to the bold Agni designs and their contrasting gemstones.
Both the ring and earrings are coated in a red enamel, a decorative coating made from a fine powder that fuses to metals when heated at high temperatures. The resulting scarlet-tinted lacquer coats the pieces in a proverbial ring of fire that proves a fitting tribute to Agni.