In all the coverage about the symbolism of things in Wicked, however, I have not read one word about the two gold pinky rings worn by Cynthia Erivo aka Elphaba. Not one word! Clearly there is some story. The rings are about the same size, but they don’t match exactly. They are sensationally styled singly on each pinky. One has a small ruby at the center which seems to be a link to the ruby slippers. The other ring appears to have a baguette-cut emerald. This could represent Elphaba’s journey to Oz, the Emerald City, or a celebration of her green skin.

Whatever the case may be, the rings in the movie made me realize just how far pinky rings have come. They have shaken off their tailored menswear reputation in favor of a far more creative form of expression. COUTURE designers ANITA KO, CASTRO SMITH, CHRISTINA ALEXIOU and RETROUVAÍ show exactly what I mean with their imaginative work.

Anita Ko

Anita Ko, the Los Angeleno who has bejeweled an endless list of celebrities, not only has her finger on the pulse of what’s happening, she always seems to intuitively know what’s going to happen next in terms of far-reaching trends. Over the years, she has also initiated them. Well, now her collection is full of pinky rings. They are made in the same sexy spirit as all her edgy designs for multiple ear piercings.

A seriously divine snake sets the tone for the group. It wraps around the finger in the same way as her coil pinky rings. The spiral design comes in variations of round and baguette cut diamonds. There is also a ruby piece for those who want to pay tribute to the magical slippers of Oz.

Castro Smith

London-based master craftsman Castro Smith creates such magical work, he would fit right in as a professor alongside Madame Morrible, the Dean of Witchcraft Studies at Shiz University in Wicked.

History, mythology and nature inspire the designer’s hand-engraved gold signet pinky rings, which are lit up with various colors of lacquer. The illustrative and painterly quality of the motifs opens up a much broader story than just the one image. They imply a full narrative. In fact, they spiritually correspond to the images in Frank Baum’s children’s book series The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, originally published in 1900.

Christina Alexiou

There is no doubt pinky rings were worn in ancient Greece and they were in the same spirit of the design as Christina Alexiou makes them. The native of Athens has a soulful authenticity to her mythological references. Yet she also makes the jewels feel completely of the moment. It has something to do with her sense of proportion and lyrically designed motifs.

Christina also has gem-set pinky rings in her collection. Among them are an oval shaped pink tourmaline and blue tourmaline with a lot of green in it. In other words, there is a Glinda ring and Elphaba ring. The dream would be to go for the full color scheme and wear both.

Retrouvaí

A pinky ring can be anything. If a jewel is sized small enough it becomes a pinky ring. While most designers don’t necessarily stock rings in the smallest sizes, the Los Angeles based designer of Retrouvaí, Kirsty Stone, does.

She makes several of her signature pieces in pinky proportions, which is not to say they are small. They are some of the biggest statement pinky rings in the category. Her pink opal, diamond and gold Yin Yang ring is major. And the Magna ring, made famous on the finger of Taylor Swift who wears her ruby version all the time, can also be had in pinky sizes in diamond and pink sapphire.

The pink and green colors of Wicked have been signature for Retrouvaí long before the movie debuted. The collection even includes an emerald-baguette cut ring that looks very similar to the style worn by Cynthia Erivo on the big screen.