Colosseum — golden ring plated with black rhodium

As long as the Colosseum stands, so too shall Rome. Locals say that ‘when it falls, so will Rome, and then the entire world,’ and the scale of the ancient amphitheatre continues to dazzle millions of tourists every year. It stands above time because it accommodates time. Immortal by design, the Colosseum serves as a portal to the past. Inspired by its symbolism, we will go back over two thousand years to reach that which immortalizes human ideas - gold. 

We went back to where gladiators died for the entertainment of the masses, back to where there was a culture that did not flinch at the blood or the crowd of 50,000 excited Romans, back to where the ambitious decision of Emperor Vespasian to make an amphitheatre that would be visible from any corner of Rome turned into a cry of ‘bread and circuses’ that the people would shout for days at a time. 

An arena of death, the ingenious brainchild of Roman engineers who were assured by the Roman Empire’s promise of its own vast power - this is what we know today as the Colosseum. For nine years in a row, thousands of hands built what has become the epicentre of life itself. However, it was not the architecture that brought the people here. The bloodthirsty games, which were once considered a solemn affair, drew people in to watch battles that had no end. Hundreds of people and thousands of animals were killed at the Colosseum’s inaugural games, a ritual that was instantly established as an essential part of Roman society and continued on for centuries to come. 

‘Colosseum’ translates from Latin to ‘colossal’ or ‘gigantic’, and this enormity can be seen in everything from Its revolutionary construction to the amount of labour, time and sheer grandiosity of the idea. 

If we could ask human history what places or events it finds most notable, the Colosseum would certainly make the list. 

This ring is impressive in its unexpected delicacy and the mesmerizing beauty of its details. Consider the arches, inside which one can find both the triumphant music of victory and the laurel wreath that symbolizes that victory (as well as rhodium-plated gold). All of these elements draw the eyes of passersby to this timeless homage, the ‘Colosseum’, an ode to the magnificent captured in jewellery.