The Story of Bob Marley's Sacred Ring
Plus: Jewelry that echoes the inherent brokenness of our souls (but make it fashion!) by newcomer Savannah Friedkin + your next great party earrings
Reggae pioneer and political activist Bob Marley had the kind of eclectic personal style men’s fashion influencers love to do extensive case studies on.
But if archival photos and video are our guide, it’s clear he didn’t wear a lot of jewelry. Still, one of his most prized possessions in his final years was a gold and onyx ring believed to have belonged to banished Ethiopian emperor—and pivotal figure of the Rastafari movement—Haile Selassie.
In 1977, Marley was living in London and became friends with the Ethiopian royal family, which was living in exile in the city. Selassie's son, Prince Afsa Wossen, gave Marley his father’s ring, presumably in friendship (this moment is dramatized in the newish Bob Marley biopic, Bob Marley: One Love). The rectangle of onyx set in the large, signet-style ring was topped with a gold carving of the Lion of Judah, which is a Jewish national and cultural symbol understood to represent the tribe of Judah, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. The symbol has also been used in Christianity, and in Marley’s day had come to represent Selassie and the Rastafari movement.
Marley, who died in 1981 of a rare melanoma that started in his big toe, had a dream that one day a man would reward him with a ring. He told his mother about this dream during a time he was staying with her in Delaware, and in response, she gave him a different black onyx and gold ring that belonged to his father, which he wore for just a few days before taking off for good.
When Selassie’s ring was gifted to him by the prince, he felt the signet was the ring he’d foreseen in his dream. He allegedly never took the ring off, and it’s no wonder why it was so special to him: Marley, and many Rastafari of the day, worshiped Selassie as a modern incarnation of God.
Just Dropped
Ripped and torn recycled gold by newbie designer Savannah Friedkin
Savannah Friedkin, a new Texas-based fine jewelry collection, launched last week with a chic series called Broken that “celebrates the beauty in the broken” (their words) through designs—bracelets, rings, and pendant necklaces—that feature jagged, open rifts. The resulting styles have the feel of gold being ripped apart, as though the Incredible Hulk got ahold of mom’s bangles. Friedkin said in a statement that she created the brand to start a conversation “to also honor women’s uniqueness – the cracks and characteristics that make us uniquely whole.”
I like the series because of its chic asymmetry and roughing-up of classically luxurious gold styles (“rough-luxe” is cheesy marketing-speak, but that real-life pairing always hooks me). It also reminds me a bit of Milamore’s very cool Kintsuge pieces, though this series is more commercial-feeling.
Coveting: Sterling King’s Crystal Allegro Ribbons
These wily, wriggly, untamed earrings are from NYC sterling silver-centric jewelry brand Sterling King, a house that excels in creating party-ready earrings that boast 1980s-inspired boldness—think Daryl Hannah in Wall Street (see her below). These earrings are 3.25 inches long and are super lightweight for a style that packs so much punch. They’re $395 right here.
Jewelry Sale Worth Opening a New Credit Card For
Lauren K Fine Jewelry, which specializes in nature-inspired colored stone jewelry, is having a LAST CALL sale right now and it’s a beaut: pieces are discounted up to 70% off. Snag some opal and emerald earrings or a bi-color tourmaline ring that will make you look like you’re headed to a ritzy Palm Springs pool party in 1967. Shop the sale here.
A note on hoarding jewelry
Do it. It’s not like hoarding shoes or Matryoshka dolls. It takes up almost zero space. Designate a drawer. Keep charms and beads and pendants and funky old jewelry components. They’re portable pieces of your past—or if you’re not sentimental, think of them as potential components in cool future jewels.
Case in point: Last night I ran into this Victorian-inspired costume bow pendant in a box of beads; I’ve looked at it a thousand times before and thought, ‘yeah, cute,’ but never felt particularly compelled to do anything with it. But now bows are trending hard in jewelry and fashion, and my defenses against the girly motif are quite compromised. This latest sighting had me like oooh, it’s time to wear this.
But how to wear? This morning, I put the bow on my desk and in the mess of my workspace it somehow inched itself next to a worn-out elastic bracelet strung with low-quality black pearls. SYNERGY, BABY. Such a match! I’ve since ordered an 18-inch strand of cheap and small black pearls on Etsy (around $15) to string a necklace for the bow, anchoring it on both top tips. The moral of this story is also its theme: hoard away, and play all day. You never know when the perfect pieces might come together.
Thank you!
Thanks for reading the very first Jewelry Reference newsletter. I’m grateful you took the time to check it out. And if you liked what you read and know someone else who might like it, too, please forward this email to them.
And let me know if there’s anything historical or otherwise you’d like to learn about in jewelry or gems. I’ll figure it out for you!
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Love how varied the news is in this one story!