White Copper Bagua Adjustable Ring

Tradition has Fuxi drawing the trigrams; the Earlier Heaven arrangement is about paired opposites, the Later Heaven about flow. A ring usually carries the Earlier Heaven order, Qian south and Kun north, Li east and Kan west, so that a full turn lines up. A trigram line is either broken or unbroken: broken is yin, unbroken is yang, and misread one and the whole trigram changes. The face is narrow with eight trigrams around it and only three lines each, so the cutting has to be economical. Some people match a trigram to a birth date, which is a separate calculation and one the shop stays out of. Leave a boundary between trigrams; too narrow and they merge.

The men’s is wide and the women’s narrow, and the curve of the band differs too. Gold and silver come from one mould, with the colour in the surface. On a men’s ring gold doesn’t look light, and on a women’s silver looks cleaner, which is experience from the counter rather than a rule. The same person can differ by half a size between hands. Look at the hand first: short fingers want the narrow version, which makes them look longer. Both versions adjust at the opening, so half a size either way is manageable. A pair needn’t match in colour, and one gold with one silver is done.

Adjustment is by the opening, usually kept on the palm side where it doesn’t press. Set it once and stop bending: copper fatigues and the two ends drift out of line. Round the edges of the opening, because a square mouth scrapes. Slightly tight at first is normal, since copper gives half a size in a few days. Press with the thumb, not pliers, which leave a mark. An open ring can’t be closed much: overdo it and the ends lift. On a thick knuckle, leave enough opening or it won’t go over.

Cupronickel against skin takes on a faint smell with sweat, which wiping removes. A summer day leaves a green ring on the inside, a normal reaction of copper, and it washes off. Sensitive skin should try it for half a day and take it off if it reddens. Cupronickel is hard enough that the fine bagua lines don’t polish flat. The inside is polished, which is comfortable as it turns and lets sweat dry. Coming in from the cold in winter, the metal is colder than the hand, so hold it a moment first. The gold is a surface, not plating; worn through to white, it is still copper underneath.

The trigram lines are fine, so dirt in the seams can be felt rather than seen. Dry-brush with a soft brush and don’t soak it. Store it in its own bag, because mixed with other rings the lines grind against each other and flatten quickly. Let hand cream absorb before putting it on, or oil in the seams holds the dust. Take it off to shower, since soap and hot water both attack the surface colour. Worn long, the surface takes on a soft sheen that comes from the hand, and it shouldn’t be wiped off. Treat a pair together so that the colour ages evenly.