Silver-plated White Copper Mountain Ghost Open Ring

The characters on a Shan Gui charm coin, shrunk to a ring face, leave room for only a few strokes. The face is curved and the characters have to follow the curve; strokes set on a straight line look crooked on an arc, so the text is taken apart and re-set. Silver plating settles the color and makes the dark in the lettering deeper, so from a distance it reads as a band of shadow. The face comes in two sizes, and the version with more characters only has room to spread out on the large one.

White copper, silver-plated: the silver is a coating, not the body of the metal. A thicker coating leaves more margin for wear, but the face can be worn daily and the side that rubs against the back of the finger will reach base metal sooner or later. What shows is a warm red copper, plainly different from silver white. If that bothers you, wear the ring on the hand that does less work and it will last longer. The brightness of plating sits on the surface, unlike the deep brightness of solid silver, and the gap between them is noticeable.

Open means the band is not closed; the two ends leave a gap and it can be squeezed in or opened out. The size field says adjustable, and the small and large sizes refer to the width of the face, not the band. Fingers differ by about half a size between summer and winter, and are thinner in the morning than in the afternoon, which is where the adjustment comes in. Do not adjust it in cold weather; copper goes brittle at low temperature and will crack if forced.

To adjust, hold both ends and add pressure slowly rather than opening it all the way in one go. Copper springs back, and working the same spot repeatedly starts fine cracks at the gap. When you tighten it, leave it a little loose; loose can be taken in again, while too tight leaves a mark and the base of the finger swells by the end of the day. Someone used to wearing it can set the gap by feel with their eyes shut. Do not lift anything heavy while wearing it: load on the finger bones opens the band gradually. The band loosens with time, so squeeze it back to fit every so often.

The Shan Gui coin is one branch of the yansheng charms, talismanic script on one side and bagua on the other, once hung from curtain hooks and laid at the bottom of chests, which is how the older generation used them. Made into a ring and seen every day on the hand, the subject fades and it becomes a plain band with writing on it. There is no need to make a mystery of it when giving one; explaining where it comes from is enough. Take it off to shower and to wash dishes, because soap left on the plating leaves a mark that will not wipe away. Keep the pouch that comes in the box; it is handy when you travel.