What Do Astronomy and Jewelry Have in Common? In the Late Renaissance, Look to the Stars

In the renowned opening lines of the 17th-century poem “Auguries of Innocence,” William Blake poignantly expresses:

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.

While Blake may not have meant for us to physically grasp infinity, he might have subtly suggested that there is, metaphorically, a way to cradle the vast universe itself.

Emerging from a fascination with the cosmos during the 16th and 17th centuries, a unique style of ring materialized that elegantly combined fine gold craftsmanship with the intricate mechanics of timepieces. Known as armillary rings, these seemingly simple gold bands can be worn on a finger like any ordinary piece of jewelry, but they can also transform into a sphere with interlinked circular bands that operate via delicate hinges when removed.

Examples of these armillary rings, preserved in the British Museum and the Swedish National Museum of History, trace back to Germany and date from the Late Renaissance, a period when the study of astronomy was rapidly advancing. In 1543, Copernicus ignited the scientific revolution by proclaiming that the Earth orbits the Sun, rather than the other way around.

Shortly thereafter, the Italian polymath Galileo Galilei made significant strides in observational astronomy by constructing a telescope that for the first time allowed humans to witness the stars of the Milky Way, observe Jupiter’s four largest moons, and discern Saturn’s rings, among other discoveries.

These historic gold rings are inspired by ancient astronomical devices known as armillary spheres, which were based on an outdated belief that everything in the universe revolved around the Earth. Dating back at least to the 2nd century, these designs placed our planet at the center of a rotating set of rings, offering reference points for locating other celestial bodies. The separate bands depict the equator, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, along with the Sun’s path—a ring that also illustrates the constellations of the Zodiac.