Near The Knuckle.

[Dennis]

The flavour of the month is the knuckle ring, as shown in this portrait of a renaissance lady. Of course it’s not a single ring, but a series spaced along a finger and certainly not on the knuckle. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/30/first-knuckle-rings-popular-during-the-renaissance-return-to-fashion.html.

The fashion market has quickly latched on and if you Google some sites, you will see all manner of rings under this heading, including two-finger knuckle dusters and heavy cast rings fit for hairy bikers. http://www.polyvore.com/knuckle_rings/shop?query=knuckle+rings

So if you went for this idea, I wonder how you would market it. Perhaps on a fancy stand like Wendy Ramshaw, or tied together with a super thin chain to make your point? Then there’s the multi-sizing nightmare to consider. Dennis.

[silken]

Personally, I think they're awful but I've seen a lot of them on Etsy and they seem to be very popular. To me, they just look like you've bought a ring 3 sizes too small and can't fit it over your knuckle ;)

[Patstone]

Maybe, but for people like me who have actually made one too small by accident, it brings a whole new dimension !!!!!!!

[silken]

Ahaa! So this is just a marketing strategy to sell those rings that you accidentally make too small? ;)

[Patstone]

Works for me.....

[caroleallen]

I quite like them but as you say, sizing would be a nightmare. It's hard enough already.

[Patstone]

No, just do what you would do with an ordinary ring. whats the difference between apart from the knuckle ring having to be a bit tighter than a normal one. I am going to have a go anyway. not sure about joining two together though.

[Tabby66]

How funny......I only had a conversation about these today, having never heard of them before..........well, as Emily says...here is the marketing ploy for all my smaller sized rings!!

From a wearability perspective.....a band must be the limit, surely?? I'd be interested to hear!!

[medusa]

The flavour of the month is the knuckle ring, as shown in this portrait of a renaissance lady. Of course it’s not a single ring, but a series spaced along a finger and certainly not on the knuckle. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/30/first-knuckle-rings-popular-during-the-renaissance-return-to-fashion.html.

The fashion market has quickly latched on and if you Google some sites, you will see all manner of rings under this heading, including two-finger knuckle dusters and heavy cast rings fit for hairy bikers. http://www.polyvore.com/knuckle_rings/shop?query=knuckle+rings

So if you went for this idea, I wonder how you would market it. Perhaps on a fancy stand like Wendy Ramshaw, or tied together with a super thin chain to make your point? Then there’s the multi-sizing nightmare to consider. Dennis.

you will have to forgive me, but one picture by some obscure renaissance painter who clearly (like lots of artists) has problems painting hands shouldn't be taken as providence for rings which don't fit.

After a good look through the academic lit (I'm bored and avoiding proper work) I couldn't find a single reference to rings being worn on the first or second knuckle. They've just made it up.

But, if I was going to market such things, then I'd find a bad painting which shows such a thing and claim it as historical provenance.

It's as preposterous as claiming it was the fashion for rich women to have their arms amputated. Cause, look... http://www.oceansbridge.co.uk/paintings/styles/renaissance/small/Portrait-of-a-Woman-1500s-xx-Lorenzo-Costa.JPG I have the proof!

[silken]

I was just browsing the jewellery browse pages on Etsy. It seems a large portion of the stacking rings are now these weird above the knuckle things.

https://www.etsy.com/browse/jewelry/rings/stacking/?ship_to=GB

Seems like quite a lucrative idea but I still think they're rather ugly!

[ps_bond]

Argh. I wish I hadn't followed that link, it's made me all ranty again. Prices...!

[silken]

Oh dear, Peter. These people obviously aren't following your wonderful pricing formula!

On a serious not, shifting handmade jewellery for dirt cheap isn't good for anyone but on Etsy people now feel they have to compete with the massive influx of 'collectives' (effectively, large scale resellers). Etsy is unfortunately steering away from the handmade ethos and promoting massively successful resellers under the guise of 'designers' working as part of a collective. OK, rant over ;)

[ps_bond]

Ain't really mine, it's a basic/simplified economics pricing model. :) I'd noticed there seems to be an awful lot of mass-produced stuff there, which seemed to contradict the claimed goals of Etsy; of course, reading Regretsy doesn't help that impression much.

On topic - I'd tend to go along with it looking like "I bought the wrong size".

[silken]

There's been a lot of talk recently about the direction Etsy is taking. The CEO has admitted that they want to change and "branch out".

Now, on the first page of the browse section you'll find rings like these:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/delezhen?section_id=7737768

I'm not going to say too much because, well, I think you all know what I'm thinking. There are LOADS of shops selling these exact same rings, they must all be very very skilled. Look at the price and the design. I certainly couldn't knock thousands of these out in a couple of months, especially not for that price. To fabricate or cast each of those rings would take a lot of time and equipment, then there's the stone setting and electroplating. I really wish they could teach me some of their amazing skills! Also, there's only ever a few sizes in stock. Why can't these, erm, very skilled jewellers make rings to size, I wonder?

Under the current rules, in theory anyone can form a 'collective' with a factory in India. They just have to 'design' the product. These 'collectives' are heavily promoted by Etsy too and get a lot of exposure.

Back on topic, yep, to me it just looks like cosmetic sizing gone wrong. You know, like high street stores that sell size 12s as a size 8 to make people feel better but this time with rings ;)

Please remove my post if it is against any forum rules.

[caroleallen]

I agree with you about prices on Etsy. I wouldn't want to churn out cheap things like that to order. I only make cheap things for craft fairs as an add-on to supplement my more expensive things.

[Dennis]

It's as preposterous as claiming it was the fashion for rich women to have their arms amputated. Cause, look... http://www.oceansbridge.co.uk/paintings/styles/renaissance/small/Portrait-of-a-Woman-1500s-xx-Lorenzo-Costa.JPG I have the proof!

Ditto Venus De Milo. I was told she got like that from biting her nails.

[SilverBouillon]

There's been a lot of talk recently about the direction Etsy is taking. The CEO has admitted that they want to change and "branch out".

Now, on the first page of the browse section you'll find rings like these:

And on the bottom of that page I read my favorite "designer" claim


All Rights Reserved. Including images and design.

There is no single day on knitting forum when someone opens the thread, oh, she stole my design on etsy. When I look at that design it usually simple 2x2 rib hat. Where is design? I've been told many times, that yes, it is design, because it's made of different yarn in different color, so it is design. But that "design" was reproduced by everybody during at least hundreds of years! How it's possible to claim it's original and copyrighted?

Same is here. I've seen those rings million times. But again, somehow it's original design. To be fair I saw that original design became popular years ago with Silpada (http://mysilpada.com/sites/public/content/jewelry/productList.jsf)

Sorry for ranting, it's my personal etsy bug.

[medusa]

Ditto Venus De Milo. I was told she got like that from biting her nails.

Like an extreme version of Tales of Hoffmann!

And sorry for the rant was in a grump but it does really annoy me when people make these spurious claims. If knuckle rings are so fab then they don't need the backing of the Rennaisannce!

(Currently passing Carole on the train)