The cunning fox has many famous parts—quick eyes and a sharp nose, for example—but it was the fluffy tail that captivated Temple St. Clair Carr when she began drafting designs for this couture bauble. The Sleeping Fox ring is just one of the nine critter-themed jewels in her Mythical Creatures From the Golden Menagerie collection. “To me, a red fox is all about his tail,” says the designer. “They sweep their tails around them so beautifully when they’re curled up.” Seeing the entire series come to life was liberating for Carr, who’s “been waiting to do something in high jewelry for so long.” She adds, “I’ve been doing bespoke pieces for clients for years, but what was wonderful about this was that it was made out of pure creativity. The whole collection is my design style on steroids.”

Fox in a Box

This one-of-a-kind 18k gold ring features 3.4 cts. t.w. spinels, 12.35 cts. t.w. mandarin garnets, 0.22 ct. t.w. emeralds (the eyes), and 0.35 ct. t.w. diamonds (the tail’s end). The fox, which sold quickly for an undisclosed amount, came packaged in a box designed by fine artist Nancy Lorenz—who crafted nine distinct boxes for the collection. The fox’s box featured inlaid mother-of-pearl and golden tree branches wrapping up the sides and over the lid.

Work Study

The ring was made in the Florence, Italy, atelier Carr has worked with for more than 30 years. “For the fox I used a chiseler—one of the last chiselers in Florence—who did all the fur in between the stones and the sides,” she says. It took three years to complete all nine baubles.

Book ’em

Each Mythical Creature—which recently showed at the Department of Decorative Arts at the Louvre in Paris—comes packaged with a small fine-art book detailing its journey. And Carr will release a book this year that shares the collection’s creation: “There’s a completeness to these pieces that I love. This is what I’ve been working to do my whole career.”