The Helioro is an expression of the everlasting power of the sun. Its nine strands symbolise completion and a new beginning. To buy a ring is to confess that one has succumbed to an age-old fascination. And to give a ring to someone else is to express one’s innermost feelings in an especially condensed and tactile form. The charm of a ring lies in its perfect roundness, which encircles the finger as its constant companion. A ring is not only the symbol of a deep bond but also its perfect embodiment. In its purest form, a ring is nothing other than an closed circle, without a beginning or an end. It’s the simplest expression of eternity and infinity, those two imponderables about which the astrophysicists so soberly instruct us. Yet even astrophysics is still powerless to explain away the mystery of the planetary movements, the ceaseless rotation that is replicated throughout the universe as the rhythm of creation and extends all the way down to the microcosmic world of atoms.

 

The infinite circle of rays ...

For the ancient Greeks, the sky was the dominion of Helios, the sun god, who each day rode his fiery chariot across the ether. Our forefathers had their first taste of infinity in the immense power of the sun, and they thenceforth tried to recreate its beauty. Indeed, the remains of all primitive civilisations feature objects made of twisted hair and metal, bangles and necklaces. The Mayans, Celts and Etruscans all harboured dreams of being able to weave together strands of light. The Scythians tried to capture the charm of sunlight in jewellery of braided wire. And in Arab countries today, it is still the custom to wear rings consisting of several parts linked by a small notch.

Each of the strands of gold contains a "soul" ...

The Helioro is dedicated to the mythical association of the circle with light and life. Were it possible to resolve all the problems of the goldsmith in one fell swoop, then the answer would surely lie in this ring. Each of the strands of gold, seamlessly joined in a secret technique, contains a “soul” that also holds it apart from the others. In its roundness, the cross-section of the ring likewise permits a flow of energy in all directions. Like a radiant garland plaited from nine rays of sunshine, the Helioro has a well-chosen roseate hue in which the brilliance of bright daylight can properly unfold. The colour of the gold also contains echoes of the same brilliant orange that signalises the joy of life in Buddhism. Freed of all excess, the ring is as spare and as condensed as any piece of nature. With its slight air of severity and absolute balance, it also has something of the charm of a Charles Rennie Mackintosh art nouveau design. Organic in its roundness yet marked by a mathematical precision, the Helioro exudes a meditative calm combined with the temperament of Ravel’s Boléro. Turn it around in your hands, and you could be forgiven for hearing the faraway music of the spheres. “The Almighty God is the greatest packaging artist of them all,” explains Catherine Plouchard, the creator of the Helioro. “A seed, a bud, a skin cell — all of them possess this amazing clarity and order.” The Helioro is composed of nine strands — and in numerology, nine is a magic number that brings a cycle to an end and links this completion to a new beginning. The seamless beauty of this ring does not permit any adjustments; it is therefore always made to measure for each customer. For this reason alone, the Helioro is the ideal ring with which to commemorate an event that marks a caesura in the life of an individual — or even a gift that one might give oneself simply to welcome the start of a brand-new day.