White Copper Golden Light Mantra Open Ring, Gold

The face of a ring is narrow, so the characters can only go in a band or a stretch. The whole Golden Light Spell will not fit on a ring face, so the opening lines are usually set running around it. The wearer comes to know which line is on which face — a reading that belongs to one person and cannot be put on a plaque; only something worn close can do it. If the inner band is cut too full the characters crowd into one line, and white space would have been better.

An open ring adjusts by the gap at the two ends. White copper has enough give to bend, but bend it too far and it takes a crease, and a creased place breaks on the next bend. Adjust it to the hand and stop; do not squeeze it daily. On a hand whose knuckles are thicker than the base of the finger it will not go on in the morning and is loose by noon — common enough, and not a wrong size. The opening is best kept on the palm side, where it does not scrape paper when you write and does not catch on threads.

The gold colour is electroplating. The layer is thin, and the inside of the band and the edges of the opening wear first. Once the white copper shows, the colour goes patchy, and patches on one hand look worse than a piece that has lost its colour evenly. For durability take silver; if you want the look of money, accept the wear, and re-plating every year or two is an option. Keep plated pieces out of a pocket with keys: plating fears hard objects, and one scratch is one white line.

A ring is not a pendant, and people generally do not take it off to wash their hands. Soap and hand wash leave a white film in the cut characters that makes them look blurred. Once a week, an old toothbrush with a little toothpaste, rinse, dry, and the cutting is clear again. Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner; the vibration lifts plating into blisters. Wearing it in the shower is fine, though shampoo is harder on plating than soap, so rinse and dry afterwards.

It is bought mostly by women, and the advantage of an open band is that no size has to be asked for. Men buy them too, for the little finger, as a reminder. Do not make the spell sound too mystical; “gathering the mind” is enough. Some find the gold colour vulgar, and the silver version is right there — let them compare, which does more than ten sentences. Some buy two, one to wear and one put away, and change over when the first wears. The inside of the band should be polished as well; a rough inner face rubs, and more so when the hand sweats. Try it on before buying: it is right when it reaches the base of the finger without pinching.