For anyone interested in jewelry: a magnificently illustrated, international survey of rings through history.

With ravishing reproductions of rings from many countries, this book presents rings through major themes: signets; rings associated with love, marriage, and friendship; devotional, protective, and ecclesiastical rings; memento mori and memorial rings; rings associated with famous people and great events; decorative rings; diamond rings; and rings as accessories.

Rings of all periods are covered—from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome through the Middle Ages and Renaissance to the twentieth century. The examples come from great museums and from private collections, chiefly that of the noted gem dealer Benjamin Zucker.

The author, one of the world's leading jewelry historians, draws on artistic and literary sources to make the rings' contexts come alive with paintings, drawings, and vivid quotations. 479 color photographs and illustrations.