Austy Lee channels Japanese lacquerware mastery into a singular ring

The Maki e no Gokurakujoudo Ring emerges from Austy Lee’s Ancient Fetus Collection as an extraordinary meditation on the marriage between contemporary jewellery design and the refined disciplines of Japanese craftsmanship. The piece brings together the luminous weight of eighteen karat yellow gold with materials that speak to both earth and ocean: andalusite catching light with its distinctive colour shifting properties, abalone shell offering its pearlescent depths, and diamonds in fancy yellow and greenish yellow alongside white stones that punctuate the composition like stars.

What distinguishes this ring is its collaboration with Japanese lacquer artist Keisuke Sano, whose hand creates the maki e work that forms the heart of the piece. Maki e represents a technique refined across centuries, in which metal powder is sprinkled onto lacquer to create surfaces of extraordinary decorative complexity. The tradition emerged from the Japanese mastery of urushi, the lacquer itself drawn from the sap of the Toxicodendron vernicifluum tree, a material that demands patience, precision and an almost meditative understanding of its properties. Historical examples of maki e appear in inro and other works of art that collectors have treasured for generations; here, Sano brings that venerable vocabulary to bear within a contemporary jewellery context.

The name itself, Gokurakujoudo, invokes a realm of spiritual refinement, and the ring embodies that aspiration through its refusal of simplicity. The lacquerware element sits not as an afterthought but as a central component, demanding that the wearer hold both Western and Eastern traditions in their hand simultaneously. The interplay between the geometric precision of the gold setting, the organic beauty of the abalone, the crystalline properties of the andalusite, and the hand applied delicacy of Sano’s lacquer work creates a surface that rewards extended looking.

This is jewellery that functions as wearable art in the truest sense: a singular object that honours both the heritage of Japanese craft and the contemporary possibilities of fine jewellery design. Each ring within this vision remains entirely unique, a characteristic that deepens its significance. The Ancient Fetus Collection from which it emerges suggests layers of meaning, artworks born from artistic impulse rather than commercial imperative.

Imagery courtesy of Austy Lee (@austy_lee).