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Betony Race Ring

Betony Vernon "Race Ring" Ring Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Race Rings" is an iconic and original design made by Betony Vernon in 1997. Manufactured in
Category

1990s European Contemporary Solitaire Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Race Rings" Seven Rings Sterling Silver in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Race Rings" is an iconic and original design made by Betony Vernon in 1997. Manufactured in
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Cocktail Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

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Betony Vernon "Sleeping Ring" Large Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Sleeping Ring" was designed by Betony Vernon in 1998 and manufactured in lost wax elements. Part of the iconic "Tokens of Paradise Collection", it is a discreet and humorous sym...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Fashion Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Double Sphere Cocktail Ring" Ring Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Double Sphere Cocktail Ring" was designed by Betony Vernon in 2004 and manufactured in lost wax elements. As elegant as it is playful, the jewel is likely to spark conversation....
Category

Early 2000s Italian Contemporary Fashion Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Yoyo Massage Ring" Ring Sterling Silver 925 Woman Size in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Yoyo Massage Ring" is a wearable sculpture designed by Betony Vernon in 1998. The ring slides between the index and middle finger and is used for massage, both intimate and full...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Cocktail Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Shag Bague" Ring Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Shag Bague" was designed by Betony Vernon in 1998 to be worn on the middle finger. As other massage rings and jewel tools by Betony Vernon, this wearable piece of sculpture doub...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Cocktail Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Venus Cuff" Bracelet Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The “Venus Cuff” was designed by Betony Vernon in 1997 to fit snuggly onto the wrist. This piece celebrates the feminine and it is an emblematic invitation to express your sensual se...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Cuff Bracelets

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Venus Ring" Small, Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The “Venus Ring Small” was designed by Betony Vernon in 1997 to be worn on the middle finger. This piece celebrates the feminine. It is an emblematic invitation to express your sensu...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Cocktail Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Pod Massage Ring" Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Being ready to bring joy is a fundamental aspect of the Paradise Found Fine Jewelry Collection and the Pod Massage Ring is crafted to offer two distinct sensations. The smooth pod-sh...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Band Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "O'Ring Signature Chain" Necklace Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "O'Ring Signature Chain Necklace" was designed by Betony Vernon in 1992 and handcrafted in lost wax element of Sterling Silver 925 in 2018. The timeless "O'Ring Signature Chain N...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Chain Necklaces

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Three Rows Bracelet" Bracelet Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Three Rows Bracelet" was originally designed by Betony Vernon in 1996. Now a timeless BV signature jewel, it is handcrafted using lost wax elements and Sterling Silver 925. This...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Chain Bracelets

Materials

Sterling Silver, 18k Gold

Betony Vernon "Three Sphere Massage Ring" Ring Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Three Sphere Massage Ring" was designed in 1998 by Betony Vernon and manufactured in lost wax elements. While it can be worn discreetly beyond the boudoir, the "Three Sphere Mas...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Cocktail Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Sphere Piercing Ring" Ring Large Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The Sphere Piercing Ring is a notable component of the iconic Sphere Collection, which Betony Vernon started to design in the 1990s. The sphere creates a lively and playful kinetic e...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Band Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Ben Wa Chain" Necklace Bracelet Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Ben Wa Chain" Necklace was first designed by Betony Vernon in 1995 using lost wax elements and various sizes of rolo' chains in Sterling Silver 925. The timeless BV signature je...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Chain Necklaces

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Ostrich Feather Puff" White Ring Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Ostrich Feather Pleasure Puff" ring was designed by Betony Vernon in 1994 to tickle your fantasy. The ring it is still coveted by collectors today as the "Ostrich Feather Pleasu...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Fashion Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Tassel Cocktail Ring" Ring Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Tassel Cocktail Ring" was designed by Betony Vernon in 2004 and manufactured in lost wax elements. As elegant as it is playful, the jewel is likely to spark conversation. Like m...
Category

Early 2000s Italian Contemporary Cocktail Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Finger Ring" Ring Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Finger Ring" was designed in 1998 by Betony Vernon and crafted using the lost wax technique. It is part of her anatomic Second-skins collection and was exhibited during the "Tou...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary Fashion Rings

Materials

Sterling Silver

Betony Vernon "Leather Whip Necklace" Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
The "Leather Whip Necklace" was designed in 1997 by Betony Vernon. The "body" of the whip is made of handwoven leather. The empowering unisex necklace is part of Vernon's personal ar...
Category

1990s Italian Contemporary More Necklaces

Materials

Sterling Silver

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Betony Vernon for sale on 1stDibs

The paradigm shift took place over lunch in Florence, Italy, circa 1992. Betony Vernon, a striking flame-haired jewelry designer, was showing off her most recent creation: the 18-karat-gold O-ring, designed with a nod to a bondage collar, with a smaller ring affixed to its front.

Playfully, Vernon's partner put his pinky through the smaller ring as she donned the larger one. Then, the unexpected happened. “There was an electric impulse running through this piece,” she recalls. “We both felt it.” The feeling changed her life. “That was the moment I knew that jewelry can provide sensation and reinforce an intimate bond.”

Enabling others to experience electric moments like that — to “bring luxury, fantasy and sensual possibilities to the fine-jewelry world” — has been Vernon's aim ever since. “Sex and luxury were never associated,” she noticed, and the jewelry designer set out to change that. The result was her 1992 Sado-Chic collection, which became the Paradise Found collection.

Vernon grew up in Virginia and studied art history, religion and goldsmithing at Virginia Commonwealth University. Following her graduation in 1990, she moved to Florence, later earning a master’s in industrial design from the Domus Academy in Milan. Europe has been home ever since.

Vernon's designs are provocative, sexy. But if you look no further than that, you’re missing a much bigger (and more interesting) point. Vernon’s rings, necklaces, bracelets and other accessories represent a vital part of what she sees as her life’s mission.

“Pleasure,” she explains, “has been associated with sin, wrongness and naughtiness, not with joy, happiness and bonding.” Vernon has set out to demolish that “pleasure taboo.”

So, how is pleasure reflected in the design of Vernon's jewelry (and remember, we are talking sensuality not sexuality)? Early in the design process, she asks, “How many senses can I turn on?” Every detail relates to a sensual experience.

That crisp snap a clasp makes when opening or closing? A pleasure to the ear.

The softness and spring of noble metals, silver and gold? A pleasure to the touch.

And always, Vernon believes, jewelry embodies memory, legacy. A pleasure for the soul.

Find a collection of Betony Vernon jewelry on 1stDibs.

A Close Look at Contemporary Jewelry

Contemporary jewelry is inextricably linked with the moment in which it is created, frequently reflecting current social, cultural and political issues such as environmental consciousness, identity and sustainability. It’s informed by fashion trends, from the chokers of the 1990s to the large chain necklaces of the early 2000s.

Jewelry is one of the oldest forms of adornment. Lockets made of silver or gold have been treasured gifts for hundreds of years, for example, and charm bracelets, which have existed since prehistoric times, didn’t become especially popular until the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. For many centuries, fine jewelry was used primarily to express wealth or status through lavish materials. Then, in the 1960s, a concept known as the “critique of preciousness” emerged, with jewelers creating pieces that did not get their value from gemstones or precious metals. Instead, it was the jeweler’s artistic vision that was prized and elevated.

This shift still informs Contemporary jewelry being made by artists today. Whether they are using cheap, found materials and working with provocative geometric shapes or seeking out the rarest stones, they are imbuing their work with meaning through their skills, techniques and ideas. Innovative designers such as Elsa Peretti, who popularized sculptural sterling-silver jewelry for Tiffany & Co., and David Yurman, who twisted metal into the simple yet striking Cable bracelet, have also influenced the direction of Contemporary jewelry’s forms and aesthetics.

Meanwhile, technological advancements like metal alloys and laser engraving have led to new possibilities in jewelry design. Now, edgy makers and brands as well as minimalist designers are pushing Contemporary jewelry forward into the 21st century.

Find a collection of Contemporary rings, earrings, necklaces and other jewelry on 1stDibs.

Finding the Right Rings for You

Antique and vintage rings have long held a special place in the hearts of fine jewelry lovers all over the world.

No matter their origin or specific characteristics, rings are timeless, versatile accessories. They’ve carried deep meaning since at least the Middle Ages, when diamond rings symbolized strength and other kinds of rings were worn to signify romantic feelings or to denote an affiliation with a religious order. Rings have also forever been emblematic of eternity.

Over time, rings have frequently taken the form of serpents, which have long been associated with eternal life, health and renewal. Italian luxury jewelry house Bulgari has become famous for its widely loved Serpenti motif, for example, and its Serpenti ring, like the other accessories in the collection, began as an homage to jewelry of the Roman and Hellenistic eras. The serpent is now a popular motif in fine jewelry. Jewelry devotees have long pined for rings adorned with reptiles, thanks to antique Victorian rings — well, specifically, Queen Victoria’s illustrious engagement ring, which took the form of a gold snake set with rubies, diamonds and an emerald (her birthstone). Designs for Victorian-era engagement rings often featured repoussé work and chasing, in which patterns are hammered into the metal.

Engagement rings, which are reliably intimidating to shop for, are still widely recognized as symbols of love and commitment. On 1stDibs, a range of buying guides can be found for those in the market for antique engagement ringsvintage engagement rings or Art Deco engagement rings

The most collectible antique engagement rings and vintage engagement rings are those from the Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco eras. Named for the monarchies of the four King Georges, who in succession ruled England starting in 1714 (plus King William’s reign), antique Georgian rings, be they engagement rings or otherwise, are also coveted by collectors. Pearls, along with colored gemstones like garnets, rubies and sapphires, were widely used in Georgian jewelry. The late-1700s paste jewelry was a predecessor to what we now call fashion or costume jewelry

The Art Nouveau movement (1880–1910) brought with it rings inspired by the natural world. Antique Art Nouveau rings might feature depictions of winged insects and fauna as well as women, who were simultaneously eroticized and romanticized, frequently with long flowing hair. Art Deco jewelry, on the other hand, which originated during the 1920s and ’30s, is by and large “white jewelry.” White metals, primarily platinum, were favored over yellow gold in the design of antique Art Deco rings and other accessories as well as geometric motifs, with women drawn to the era’s dazzling cocktail rings in particular.

Whether you’re hunting down a chunky classic for a Prohibition-themed cocktail party or seeking a clean contemporary design to complement your casual ensemble, find an exquisite collection of antique, new and vintage rings on 1stDibs.