Regard

The first time I ever heard of Regard rings was in an Angela Thirkell novel, Miss Bunting, I think it was, when the very frail old rector gives his son's young girlfriend a ring that had belonged to his grandmother and explains to her that the six stones in it spell out the word regard. Ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst, ruby and diamond. At the time I thought it was a charming idea. Since then I have discovered that there is also a Dearest ring - diamond, emerald, amethyst, ruby, emerald, sapphire and topaz. This does not have quite the same interest for me as the Regard ring because regard has other meanings apart from expressing affection. It also means to consider, to give careful attention to something. It's important for us in our everyday lives. I now have a Regard ring and when I look at it I remember my mother and think of how she lived her life and of how I'm living mine. it helps me pay attention to my behaviour and to the fleeting nature of life.
Old Regard rings are rather rare and expensive, but there are here and there some modern and slightly cheaper reproductions.
Here is an original from the 1890s:

You can see how pretty it is with the scrolled gold and the unpretentious size of the stones.
And so to the knitting. It came to me in an incredible brainwave that I could convey the same message in a pair of socks - or a hat (coming soon) or scarf or gloves. And I came up with this design:

Of course you can change the colours of the rest of the sock around to suit yourself. The important part is the colours of the gemstones and the scrolled gold around the toe. There is also a lacy pattern around the cuff for a more delicate Victorian look.