Plate 55
The long horizontal band of the ring supplies the motive for the horizontal inceptive axis as a common basis or starting point for a large number of designs. If the designer so desires, the vertical axis of the finger is authority for an elliptical stone to be placed with its major axis as a vertical line in harmony with the finger axis. In any instance the designer seeks to lead the eye from the horizontal portion of the ring (the finger band) toward the point of concentration (the stone), by means of surface enrichment. A long sloping contour curve helps, as a transition line in the boundary, to carry the attention from the stone to the finger band. A great number of devices are used to complete a similar transition in the surface enrichment. [Figure 390a]. Too much piercing weakens the structure, and it is therefore to be avoided.
Courtesy of the Elverhoj Colony
Figure 390a.—Rings
[Plate 56] suggests some vertical flat planes for pendants. While no definite rule can be stated for the location of the stone, from past experience, it is easier for beginners to place the stone on the vertical inceptive axis slightly above the geometric center of the primary mass. [Figures 391] to [395]. A design thus formed is less likely to appear heavy, although there is nothing arbitrary about the suggestion.
Rule 10c. Parts of a design differing in function should differ in appearance but be co-ordinated with the entire design.