A strange ring, imittating a cube with unknowen properties. Is it a thimble? A die for playing with? A small chest? Nobody ever knew the answer. It was thought, probably wrongly, that it could be an imitation of a ancient, long-forgoten artefact whose shape could have survived the fashions, irrespective of its use. One reason for its success remains the welfare and assurance it provides its wearer, as if protected beyond time and space.