Epic Jewellery presents a new art collaboration with contemporary photo artist Zhenya Mironov. The result is the Eye Drops collection of cocktail rings. These unisex designs are crafted in sterling silver with satin finishes in gold plating, blackened rhodium or natural silver, and set with specially cut cabochons of natural gemstones: amethyst, rose quartz, smoky quartz, rock crystal, blue topaz and prasiolite. The design was created by Anna Minakova and her creative studio, Alice in Wonderlab.
What makes each ring unique is a miniature photograph placed beneath the stone, which acts as a lens.
To the limited silver editions of five pieces each, a unique gold ring will be produced, featuring an artwork chosen by Zhenya Mironov and set beneath a portrait-cut diamond crafted exclusively for the project. This piece will be made to the client’s size.
Before the invention of photography, miniature painting was one of the most popular forms of jewellery decoration. Miniatures were created in gouache, watercolour and later enamel, often depicting copies of famous paintings, landmarks and landscapes. Yet no genre surpassed the popularity of portrait miniatures, which reached their peak in the 16th to 18th centuries. They adorned watches, brooches, pendants, rings, snuffboxes and jewellery caskets. Early works were executed in watercolour on parchment; later, in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, portraits were painted in oils on copper. From the mid-18th century, enamel on copper became fashionable, before watercolour returned as the primary medium — this time on ivory.
One remarkable tradition was the creation of jewel-set miniatures of a single eye. The story is said to have begun in 1784, when the Prince of Wales, later King George IV, became enamoured with Maria Fitzherbert. As a token of affection, he sent her a miniature portrait of his eye in a jewel setting; she replied with one of her own, and they married a month later. Such eye miniatures became symbols of both love and loss.
With the rise of the daguerreotype and photography, the art of miniature jewellery fell into decline. In the 20th century, artists such as Yves Tanguy occasionally revisited the genre, but it largely remained within the decorative traditions of watchmaking. Photography itself brought little of the artistic variety that miniature painting once offered, finding its place mostly in modest lockets containing portraits.
The collaboration between Epic Jewellery and Zhenya Mironov revives this historic tradition of artistic miniatures in jewellery, reimagining it with contemporary art photography.
